U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Rumson) met privately this summer to discuss the 2009 campaign for Governor and specifically the possibility of Beck running on Christie's ticket for Lieutenant Governor, according to two key Monmouth County Republicans who say they heard this from Beck.  Christie did not offer the number two spot on his ticket to the freshman State Senator from Monmouth County, the sources say, but did indicate he was likely to enter the race for Governor next year.  

Beck, who ousted a Democratic Assemblyman in 2005 and a Democratic State Senator in 2007, has appeared on most short lists as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor next year.  He Senate seat is not up until 2011.

If Christie and Beck were to win in 2009, Republican County Committee members in the 12th district would hold a January 2010 special election convention to elect a new Senator.  A November 2010 special election would allow voters the chance to decide who would fill the remaining fourteen months of Beck's term.  A special election convention could set up an intra-party battle between Beck's two running mates, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande.

While former Senate President John Bennett, who lost his seat to Ellen Karcher in 2003, told PolitickerNJ.com this week that he would not run for office again, one Republican leader said that Bennett could change his mind if his return to the Legislature was decided by party insiders.