January 13, 2009 - 7:59pm
Inside Edge

Wilson and Haines: changing the way New Jersey does business

GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson is one of two New Jersey votes for Republican National Chairman candidate Saul Anuzis.

In the old days, New Jersey politicians used to cut deals with candidates for national party office, trading votes for commitments of campaign dollars.  But that kind of thing doesn’t happen here anymore.   A pair of reformers, GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson and Republican National Committeewoman Virginia Haines, have put their principles first and endorsed a candidate for Republican National Chairman without making national party funds for the gubernatorial and State Assembly races a condition of their support.   Wilson and Haines are supporting Saul Anuzis, the Michigan GOP Chairman in the January 30 election.  The two New Jerseyans were early Anuzis backers, and according to sources, offered their votes without the encumbrances of any backroom deals. 

Each state and territory gets three votes in the election: the national committee members and the state party chairman. Republican National Committeeman David Norcross, who nearly won a race for RNC Chairman in 1997, has not yet endorsed one of the six candidates in a race that includes incumbent Mike Duncan. 

Wally Edge can be reached via email at politicsnj@aol.com.