Glenn Paulsen

Much has been made of State Sen. Diane Allen’s (R-Burlington) lack of involvement in the tight 3rd Congressional race, where Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers is running against State Sen. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill).

But while Allen is much more committed to State Sen. Leonard Lance’s (R-Flemington) Congressional race, which is far outside of her district, she said today that she’s still voting for Myers, and even personally donated $250 to him within the last week or two.

“I have sat down with [Myers] and any time he asked me any questions on strategy and along those lines I gave him my best bit of information,” she said.

State Sen. Diane Allen, recovering from pneumonia that has sidelined her for much of the year, says she has no plans to retireState Sen. Diane Allen set the record straight today, denying rumors that she’s considering retirement due to health issues.

“There is no truth to that. Absolutely not,” said Allen in a phone interview this morning.

Allen has been suffering through a severe bout of pneumonia for most of the year, which has left her unable to attend some legislative sessions, including recent ones on the budget. It also kept her from considering a U.S. Senate bid earlier this year after she was courted by party leaders to replace Anne Evans Estabrook, who pulled out of the race after suffering a minor stroke.

Joe Ferriero vs. Loretta Weinberg; Brian Stack vs. Sal Vega; Glenn Paulsen vs. Diane Allen; Glenn Paulsen vs. Mike Warner; Vivian Stringer vs. Don Imus; James E. McGreevey vs. Dina Matos McGreevey; Anthony Coley vs. Ivette Mendez; Dick Codey vs. Ken Zimmerman; Dick Codey vs. George Zoffinger; Kevin O’Toole vs. Kevin Collins; Upendra Chivukula vs. Seema Singh; Karen Kominsky vs. Christie Davis Jackson; Bill Gormley vs. Sonny McCollough; Bill Pascoe vs. Maryannie Harper; Skip Hidlay vs.Ellen Karcher; Izod vs. Prudential; Guy Talarico vs. everybody.

READ THE POLITICKERNJ.COM 2007 YEAR-END REVIEW

Republicans have held Jim Saxton’s House seat continuously since 1884, when George Hires, a GOP State Senator from Salem County, ousted one-term Democratic Congressman Thomas Ferrell by 1,742 votes.  Now, after four weeks of considerable drama and many surprises, the GOP candidate to hold this open seat against Democrat John Adler, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, may be decided in a June Republican primary between Medford Deputy Mayor Christopher Myers, a Lockheed-Martin executive, and Ocean County Freeholder John Kelly. 

Former GOP State Chairman David Norcross says he won't seek Jim Saxton's seat

The field of potential Burlington County candidate to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton cleared up today, with Republican National Committeeman David Norcross and Freeholder Aubrey Fenton both removing their names from consideration and throwing their support behind the county’s presumptive favorite candidate, Lockheed Martin Vice President Chris Myers.

Myers, 42, the Deputy Mayor of Medford, is the chosen candidate of Burlington County GOP power broker Glenn Paulsen, and has the tacit approval of Saxton. He now looks almost certain to become that county’s chosen candidate.

Norcross, 64, was considered a top tier potential challenger. A prolific fundraiser, Norcross has a long political resume as a former U.S. Senate candidate and GOP state chairman. He currently serves as co-chair of Mitt Romney’s New Jersey campaign.

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

Newly-elected Burlington County GOP Chairman Bill Layton
In an act that became inevitable when a state superior court judge abruptly reversed his decision from earlier in the week, the Burlington County Republican Committee elected Bill Layton as their new party chairman at a special meeting on Saturday.

The unanimous vote proclaimed party unity, but the mood in the room bore an undercurrent of anxiety, which the new chairman attempted to dissipate in his acceptance speech.

"Friends," Layton told the crowd of 300 in the Wyndham Hotel in Mount Laurel, "families fight. They fight all the time. But they leave their house unified, and they go and fight with the neighbors."

"Friends, families fight," newly elected Burlington County GOP Chairman Bill Layton tells his fellow Republicans. Now it's time to unify and battle the Republicans mobilized on the county's southern border, he adds.

As veteran state legislator Diane Allen’s congressional star descended over the 3rd district, an opposing faction in her party inch by inch unveiled what they believe is the tantalizing candidacy of newcomer Christopher Myers, a decorated Gulf War veteran and vice president at Lockheed Martin.

"A real man's man," said an early supporter.

The popular Allen just endured a six-month long re-election campaign in which she fairly beat up the opposition by a 12% margin, but also expended energy and capital in a losing effort to pull in a pair of Assembly running mates.

It's a saga as old as Saul versus David, Red Cloud versus Crazy Horse. The scrappy old boss has to go out and try to defend his turf against the brazen young challenger bucking to be if not his successor exactly, then the leader of a new breed.

That's the way it is in Burlington County, where 36-year old Dawn Lacy, acting chair of the Republican Party, is facing Glenn Paulsen, 60, the party's former chair and enduring craggy-faced poster boy for GOP power. 

When Lacy threw Paulsen's surrogates out of party headquarters the day after the election on Nov. 6th, the boss went into attack mode and promptly started stirring up opposition to the bright-eyed young politico whom he'd initially brought into the fold to head up the party's youth recruitment efforts.