Victor Sordillo

In the crowded field of Republican primary candidates in the seventh congressional district, one fundraising firm is working for two contenders.

TurnKey Productions is raising money for two of the top GOP candidates to replace Mike Fergsuon. In one corner is T. Robin Visconi, who’s working for State Sen. Leonard Lance. Her partner at TurnKey, Maria Chappa, is signed on with Kate Whitman.

“There’s a firewall between them. Obviously they’re not talking about the campaigns with one another,” said Whitman campaign manager Anthony Attanassio.

But that’s not all. Lance and another candidate, P. Kelly Hatfield, share the same treasurer – Ron Gravino.

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, Assemblyman Eric Munoz, Sen. Thomas Kean, and U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson soak in one of the speeches.

WESTFIELD - The word going into that first round of voting at the Union County Republican Convention on Saturday was that former Summit Councilwoman Kelly Hatfield and Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks would require a second showdown.

"This is going to a runoff between the top two candidates," said John DeSimone, commissioner for the county Board of Elections as he waded into the crowd of delegates. And that’s exactly how it went down at Westfield High School, where Hatfield eventually prevailed over Marks with 60% of the vote in the Union County GOP’s pre-primary battle for the line in the 7th District Congressional race.

Because of his Hunterdon County base, Leonard Lance starts as the front runner in the Republican primary to succeed Mike Ferguson in New Jersey's seventh congressional district, but he faces a formidable challenge from Kate Whitman, the 30-year-old daughter of the former Governor, and from a pair of candidates from Union County.

Lance has two main problems: he's a horrific fundraiser, as evidenced by his inability to properly fund Republican Senate races after serving as Minority Leader for the last four years; and Republicans are worried that he lacks the ability to step up and run the kind of tough campaign the GOP thinks they need to hold the seat against Linda Stender in the General Election. 

Warren Mayor Victor SordilloIt’s primary season in a Republican-leaning district, and to date Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks has most vocally filled the pro-life terrain in the 7th district primary field, where he hopes to upend pro-choice Dr. Kelly Hatfield of Summit this Saturday at the Union County Republican Convention.

But Warren Township Mayor Victor Sordillo in neighboring Somerset County appears intent on moving even farther to Marks’ starboard on the issue of abortion, and doing so with the specific strategic goal of gaining ground in his home territory.

Since learning of Assemblyman Peter Biondi’s intentions last month not to pursue a run for Congress in this district that contains portions of four counties (Hunterdon, Somerset, Union and Middlesex), Sordillo entered the fray and has determinedly carved out a hard right entrenchment.

State Sen. Leonard Lance makes his case as one of his opponents, Warren Township Mayor Victor Sordillo, looks on.

FLEMINGTON - State Sen. Leonard Lance flattened the other 7th Congressional district primary candidates in his home county tonight at a meeting of the Hunterdon County Republicans, and specifically targeted Kate Whitman in his speech to the county committee.

In his most animated remarks so far on the campaign trail, the former minority leader vowed to fight the terrorists and fight the Taliban, and quoted Lincoln’s "America is still the world’s last best hope on earth."

They're not state Senators or gubernatorial offspring. They don't come from political dynasties and don't have powerful county organizations backing them.

But in the third and seventh congressional districts, there are eight lower-profile Republican candidates, considered second-tier to the likes of state Sen. Leonard Lance, Kate Whitman, Medford Mayor Chris Myers and Ocean County Freeholder Director Jack Kelly. And those candidates want to stress that even without a famous name or a powerful county organization behind them, they can have an impact on these races.

One of the longest shot candidates on the ballot in either district is Suzanne Penna, a 37-year-old nursing student from Bayville who's only been involved in politics for the last year and a half. It won't be her first time facing Kelly in a primary.

The race for the Republican nod to succeed Mike Ferguson in the seventh district is looking good for Leonard Lance – although that could change when he finally discloses how much money he has raised. The former Senate Minority Leader is the lone candidate from Hunterdon County, which has the largest percentage (38%) of Republican primary voters of the four counties in the seventh district. Lance will have the organization line in Hunterdon, where he appears exceedingly popular. If the field remains large – right now there are seven other candidates in the race – Lance’s plurality in Hunterdon alone should be enough to win the nomination.

Kate Whitman is the daughter of former Gov. Christie WhitmanSeventh district congressional candidate Kate Whitman does not want to distance herself from her mother. But at a candidate forum on Thursday night, she did draw a distinction, describing herself as “more conservative than my mother.”

In terms of Kate Whitman’s candidacy, being the daughter of former two term Republican governor Christine Todd Whitman cuts both ways.

Whitman’s name recognition helped get her a place as one of the most high profile candidates in the crowded seventh district Republican field. And she managed to raise $200,000 during the first quarter of 2007 – more than any other candidate (even if some, like state Senator Leonard Lance, were not yet raising money). At least some of that money came from contacts made through her mother, though Whitman said that there are new donors as well.

Kate Whitman and Leonard Lance sought to affirm their conservative credentials at a forum for seventh district Republican congressional candidates in Clark last night. 

About eighty Republicans showed up to hear five of the contenders for the seat of four-term incumbent Mike Ferguson, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election.

Positioning himself as the social conservative in a field of pro-choice Republicans, Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks made it clear he is pro-life.