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.

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.

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.”

So far, Democrats haven’t seemed anxious to field and financially support a real challenger to Rep. E. Scott Garrett. But amongst Republicans, there’s discontent with Garrett brewing just beneath the surface of the fifth congressional district.

Some complain of Garrett’s steadfast conservative ideological commitment which has led to cast votes against bills considered no-brainers to Democrats and more moderate Republicans. Whether this is a strength or weakness is up for debate, however.

U.S. Senate candidate Anne Estabrook now has the backing of six GOP County ChairmenTwo more Republican County Chairmen have joined Anne Evans Estabrook's U.S. Senate Exploratory Committee, along with three state legislators and a former GOP State Chairman. Hunterdon County GOP Chairman Henry Kuhl and Salem County GOP Chairman Paul Reed join GOP county leaders from Monmouth, Union, Camden and Gloucester counties as likely Estabrook for Senate supporters.

Assemblymen Peter Biondi and Sean Kean, Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck, and former GOP State Chairman Virginia Littell are also backing Estabrook. They join State Senators Joe Kyrillos and Diane Allen, and Assemblywoman Amy Handlin.

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.

One sign that Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose is preparing to run for higher office -- either her father's State Senate seat in 2007 or for Lieutenant Governor in 2009: she has hired Republican operative Louis Crescitelli as her new Chief of Staff. Crescitelli worked for Congressman Frank LoBiondo and managed the Republican Assembly campaign in the third legislative district in 2005. McHose's mother, former Republican State Chairman Virginia Littell, has openly suggested that her daughter would make a strong running mate for John Murphy, the Morris County Freeholder who is expected to name a second bid for the GOP guberbatorial nomination in 2009.

Virginia Littell's defense of her husband, State Senator Robert Littell, seems eerily reminiscent of the way Woodrow Wilson's wife protected his interests following a massive stroke in 1919. First Lady Edith Galt Wilson hid the President's condition from the public and even most of the White House staff -- a period that she called her "stewardship." It was Mrs. Littell, a former Republican State Chairman, that spoke to the New Jersey Herald's John Brand about speculation that Assemblyman Guy Gregg would challenge her 70-year-old husband -- a legislator since 1967 -- in the 2007 Republican primary. Insiders say that these days Ginnie Littell does most of the talking for her husband, who she said walks with a slight hunch due to arthritis of the spine and has lost 75% of his hearing. She had harsh words for Gregg: It's disappointing when somebody who is a part of your team and you've run with for years goes behind your back and doesn't want to return to the work he's done ... He's been talking about this for ages. I think it's disappointing, actually, to have somebody serving in one capacity so unhappy in that capacity that he has to take a look at another seat ... "If you feel like saying something or doing something, just come out and say this is the story and this is how I want it written." On Senator Littell: "My husband doesn't operate under conjecture," she said. "There is no plotting. He just does the job of the people of the 24th District." Finally: "The difficult thing is there is a lot of unauthorized or unidentifiable people out there with these blogs and the Internet and they're pretty much saying what they want," Ginnie Littell said. "And that's just chicken. You don't play sneak-around-to-come-and-whisper campaigns."