Robert Littell

All eight countywide elected officials from Sussex County today endorsed Christopher Christie for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, along with Sussex GOP Chair Ailish Hambel and former County Chairman Richard Zeoli.  But Christie has not yet scored a Sussex sweep, with U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), State Sen. Steven Oroho (R-Franklin), Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-Franklin), Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Frankford), former State Sen. Robert Littell, and former GOP State Chair Virginia Littell still uncommitted in the Republican primary for Governor.

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Afraid of facing a GOP primary challenge, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-Franklin) had indicated to Republican leaders that she would endorse former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for Governor after the filing deadline - which was last Monday.  Sources say that the Christie camp, aggravated by McHose's delay, is no longer viewing her as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor.  It's possible that Christie would not have asked McHose to be his running mate anyway, but her neutrality has all but ended her hope of running statewide this year.

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When John DiMaio takes his seat in the State Assembly sometime over the next few weeks, it will become the first time in history that two Warren County residents will be serving together in the lower house.  DiMaio, at least until January 2010, will serve with his onetime friend and political ally, four-term Assemblyman Michael Doherty.

The last time Warren had two legislators was in 1990, when eleven-term State Senator Wayne Dumont resigned for health reasons.  At the time, the district included parts of Warren and Sussex counties.  The Warren County legislator was Chuck Haytaian, then the Assembly Minority Leader.  Twelve-term Assemblyman Robert Littell moved up to the Senate, and he was replaced by another Sussex County Republican, Scott Garrett.

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If Hunterdon County Freeholder Matthew Holt wins his bid for State Assembly, he'll follow a 23rd district tradition of sending the scion of prominent Republican families to the Legislature.  He is the grandson of Clifford Case, who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1955 to 1979, and Union County in the State Assembly from 1943 to 1944.

Leonard Lance, who represented the 23rd district from 1991 until taking his seat in Congress earlier this month, is the son of Wesley Lance, a former Senate President who served from 1942 to 1943, and again from 1954 to 1962.  Walter "Moose" Foran, who served in the Assembly from 1970 to 1977, and in the Senate from 1977 until his death in 1986, was the son of former Senate President Arthur Foran, who served from 1936 to 1941.

Seven legislators had fathers who served in Trenton: State Senators Christopher Bateman and Christopher Connors, Assemblyman Thomas Giblin and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose had fathers who were in the State Senate; and State Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr., Assemblyman Peter Barnes and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle had fathers who served in the State Assembly. Read More >

Democrats and Republicans seem to agree that 84-year-old U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg did just fine in his debate this week with Republican Dick Zimmer.  The George Allen/James Stockdale kind of moment Republicans were hoping for never happened; pundits from both sides say that Lautenberg won it on his own merits.  Zimmer complained that this was the first Senate campaign in years that didn't include a debate on New York and Philadelphia network affiliate television (this debate was on NJ101.5 radio, and Saturday's on New Jersey Public Television) -- a move that got him in a ton of trouble with NJ101.5's The Jersey Guys.

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Assemblywoman Alison McHose is mentioned as a possible GOP candidate for Lt. Governor in 2009: Getty Images Photo
Among the many names bandied about as potential Republican gubernatorial running mates next year is Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose (R-Franklin), who represents the third generation of a Sussex County political dynasty.

Just before speaking at a news conference attacking the Clean Elections program that she took part in last year, McHose indicated that she was open to the possibility of running for the newly created position of Lieutenant Governor.

“I’d be flattered and would consider it. I’m not actively seeking to promote myself like some on the other side,” she said. “I’m a humble politician.”

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If Republicans lose any seats in the State Assembly in the November mid-term election, look for Peter Biondi to challenge Alex DeCroce for Minority Leader. The 65-year-old Biondi, a five-term Assemblyman from Somerset County, ousted Guy Gregg from the #2 leadership post, Republican Conference Chairman, after the 2005 election.

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Formr Republican State Chairman Virginia Littell, the wife of State Senator Robert Littell and the mother of Assemblywoman Alison McHose, wants the state GOP to "ban employees of the NJGOP from seeking outside campaign consulting contracts with candidates or committees active in Republican primaries."

During this cycle, the Republican State Committee Communications and Research Director, Todd Riffle, was also a consultant to Guy Gregg's campaign for State Senate. At the time Riffle was first paid, Gregg's opponent was Littell, a 36-year incumbent.

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While not exactly Hudson County, the race for the Republican State Senate nomination in the 24th district in Sussex and Morris counties was indeed brutal.  The contest for veteran Bob Littell's seat attracted two candidates: seven-term Assemblyman Guy Gregg, and Steven Oroho, a Sussex County Freeholder and Littell's handpicked successor.  Gregg was viewed as the front-runner, but he had expected to run against Littell's forty-year legislative record and not watch the race become a referendum on his own votes in Trenton.

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The National Federation of Independent Business, New Jersey’s leading small-business advocacy group, will endorse Guy Gregg for the GOP State Senate nomination at a new conference tomorrow.  Gregg, a seven-term Assemblyman, faces Sussex County Freeholder Steve Oroho for the 24th district seat of retiring State Sen. Bob Littell.

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