Democrats are anxious to reclaim the 12th legislative district, where Jennifer Beck ousted Ellen Karcher in the 2007 Senate race, and where a pair of Republicans occupies the two Assembly seats. The plan isn't as much about 2009 (the conventional wisdom is that freshmen incumbents Declan O'Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande will be tough to beat next year) as it is about 2011. Legislative districts will be redrawn after the 2010 census.
One plan being discussed among Democrats is to move Beck's hometown, Red Bank (estimated population 11,850) into Joseph Kyrillos's 13th district. (Red Bank and Middletown share a border). The new 12th, Democrats hope, would add four Middlesex towns currently in Bill Baroni's 14th district: Cranbury (3,899), Jamesburg (6,429), Monroe (34,907), Plainsboro (21,213) and South Brunswick (40,570). In turn, Baroni would add some towns in Monmouth, like Allentown (1,847), Freehold Borough (11,394), Freehold Township (33,953), Millstone (10,064), Roosevelt (913) and Upper Freehold (6,573).
The new 12th would be tough for the Republicans to win; look for the Democrats to run one of their young rising stars, newly-elected Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornick, for State Senate, along with veteran Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein.
Editor's note: The Inside Edge is reporting redistricting speculation. No decisions on redrawing 2011 legislative districts have been made.
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