Now that state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is no longer in the running for lieutenant governor, she's a top prospect to run against freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next year - at least among Burlington County Republicans.

"The organization would whole-heartedly support Diane Allen if she decided to run for Congress," said Burlington County GOP Chairman Bill Layton.

Allen, a moderate Republican who consistently wins reelection easily in a district with a two-to-one Democratic registration advantage, has fought bitterly over the years with former chairman Glenn Paulsen and more recently Layton, his close ally.  The party divide even sunk her fledgling bid for the House in late 2007, with the Paulsen/Layton faction instead recruiting Lockheed Martin executive Chris Myers, who became the nominee.

"Now is not the time in my life that I feel prepared to again fight a Democrat opponent as well as a rogue faction of the Burlington County Republican Party simultaneously," Allen said when she announced in late 2007 that she would not seek the open House seat>

But Layton says he's intent on letting bygones be bygones.

"In politics, sometimes you have your differences, but you put them aside and try to do the best thing for the party," he said.

Myers, who lost narrowly to Adler in 2008, may be in line for a state Senate seat if state Sen. Phil Haines (R-Springfield) is appointed to a Superior Court judgeship.  He would likely have a lot of support if he decided to run for Congress again, but he is not expected to.

Allen remains non-committal about running, but she leaves the possibility open.

"It is kind of early, and truthfully it's just nothing I've given any thought to," she said.

Allen said that her decision will depend on whether Adler does a good job addressing the district's issues.

New Jersey Republicans will face some pressure from the national GOP over the next few months to settle on their candidate to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) in 2010.  Adler won the seat of retiring twelve-term Republican Jim Saxton last year with 52% -- the first Democrat to win the seat since Thomas Ferrell ousted two-term Republican George Robeson with 50.1% in 1882.

Republicans think they can beat Adler next year, but the National Republican Congressional Committee is sending signals that they want the candidate in place soon so that he or she can begin fundraising.  That's what Adler did in 2006, before Saxton had announced his intention to retire.  If the third district Republican candidate does not meet certain early fundraising goals, sources say that the NRCC might not become fully engaged in the race, according to one House Republican staffer familiar with NRCC operations.

There is considerable speculation in Ocean County that Andrew Ciesla, a six-term Republican State Senator from Brick, will not seek re-election in 2011 – and some GOP sources say they wouldn’t be surprised if Ciesla stepped down before the expiration of his current term.  Apparently Ciesla, who turns 55 next week, is burnt out after nearly seventeen years in the Senate.

Stacy LubrechtShe organized for Barack Obama as the presidential candidate's Ocean County campaign co-chair, and now Stacy Lubrecht of Brick Township is running her own campaign for freeholder.

The 38-year old director of a not-for-profit mental health agency today said she has secured support from Ocean County Democratic Party Chairman Wyatt Earp in her challenge of Republican Freeholder Joseph Vicari.

"I think Ocean County needs representation that is transparent and more in touch with young people and one-income families," said the candidate.

Ocean County Republicans will hold a screening committee meeting on Saturday morning to meet the candidates for Jim Saxton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  In Ocean County, where GOP Chairman George Gilmore rules firmly, an endorsement from the screening committee is almost tantamount to a victory at the open county GOP convention – which will be held on Monday night.

The likely Burlington County candidate, Medford Deputy Mayor and Lockheed Martin Vice President Christopher Myers, plans to screen in Ocean – sources say that former GOP State Chairman David Norcross will not appear before the screening committee, a strong indication that he has decided not to run.  Insiders close to Gilmore and Burlington GOP leader Glenn Paulsen say there is no agreement on a candidate.  That means the Republicans are headed toward a primary between candidates from Ocean and Burlington counties.

The Press of Atlantic City reported today that Ocean County Freeholder Gerry Little will not be a candidate for the GOP nomination for Congress in the third district.  Two other Freeholders, Joseph Vicari and John Kelly, are still considered possible candidates as Ocean County Republicans prepare to pick a candidate this month.  Also in the mix for the Ocean endorsement: Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Republican National Committeewoman Virginia Haines, a former Assemblywoman and state Lottery Director.

It looks like a primary fight is brewing in the third congressional district.  

While popular Burlington County state Senator Diane Allen continues to be the presumptive favorite for the Republican nomination for retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton’s seat, Ocean County is getting ready to field its own candidate.

George Gilmore, the Ocean County Republican chairman, has called a county committee convention to endorse a presidential candidate and, more importantly, its own congressional candidate.   The meeting is tentatively set for Monday, Dec. 10th.

There seems to be two certainties in the race for Jim Saxton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives:  that candidates from Burlington and Ocean counties will face off in a Republican primary, and that the GOP nominee will face a tough general election against State Senator John Adler, the likely Democratic nominee.

The GOP front runner is Diane Allen, a four-term GOP State Senator from Burlington and former TV news anchorwoman for the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.  But Allen must first establish some form of détente with Burlington GOP leader Glenn Paulsen, with whom she is engaged in a fairly vicious intra-party battle, before she can expect to win a big plurality in her home county.