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Kean is reelected Senate Minority Leader

Senator Tom Kean Jr was reelected Senate Minority Leader moments ago, according to a tweet by PolitickerNJ’s Matthew Arco.

Cross Kean off your list of possible challengers to U.S. Senator Cory Booker in 2014.  Keep him on your list of potential candidates in the next gubernatorial election, whenever that is, either 2017 or a special election in 2015 or 2016 or Governor Christie resigns to run for president.

PolitickerNJ reports that Kean fought back a challenge by Christie’s strongest allies in the Senate to replace the son of the former governor with Sen. Kevin O’Toole.   Kean prevailed 10-6.

Today’s leadership vote marks the first time that GOP Legislators have not complied with Christie’s wishes since the governor took office in 2010.

Kean released the following statement:

“I’m honored to again lead the Republican Caucus in the Senate and I thank my colleagues for their overwhelming support,” said Kean. “The responsibility to my caucus and all New Jerseyans is one I hold with great respect. I look forward to working with Governor Christie, Steve , Vincent and Jon.”

 

Steve is Senate President Steve Sweeney. Vincent is newly elected Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto of Hudson County. Jon is Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick who was reelected Minority Leader by the Assembly Republican Caucus.

Republican Senators Sam Thompson, Chairman of the Middlesex GOP, Chris Connors of Ocean County, and Robert Singer, Ocean and Monmouth, were vocally critical of Christie’s bi-partisan reelection strategy and cited Kean party building in an against all odds scenario presented by the gerrymandered legislative map, according to PolitickerNJ.

SaveJersey’s source in the GOP Senate caucus said that the 10 Senators who stood with Kean were concerned that O’Toole was “too close to the Governor” and would have endangered the “co-equal” character of the executive branch.

Trenton really has been turned upside down.  Christie no longer has the only Republican spine in the Statehouse.

Senators Joe Kyrillos, Mike Doherty, Dawn Addiego, Kip Bateman and Steve Oroho voted with O’Toole.

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Posted: November 7th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: NJ GOP, NJ State Legislature | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments »

8 Comments on “Kean is reelected Senate Minority Leader”

  1. Wait....what? said at 3:01 pm on November 7th, 2013:

    Sam Thompson is still alive? The way the Middlesex GOP squandered their shot this year led me to believe they were leaderless. Oh wait. They are.

  2. Harold Kane said at 3:01 pm on November 7th, 2013:

    Thompson is correct. Christie’s”me and only me” campaign destroyed Republican candidates down the line. Christie won Monroe 2-1, but the local candidates lost by narrow margins, 51-49 and 56-44. Christie ran some TV ads for Inverso, but never mentioned Inverso’s running mates Cook and Haas. There was never any other reference to the down line It cost him the Senate in D18.
    This was the one time where NJ Republicans had a strong chance. Whether Christie decided this strategy or Stepien/Jamestown Associates did it was a disaster. This approach to an election should enhance Hillary in 2016.

  3. MoreMonmouthMusings » Blog Archive » Breaking: Possible shake up in GOP Legislative Leadership said at 5:31 pm on November 7th, 2013:

    […] UPDATED: KEAN REELECTED MINORITY LEADER […]

  4. It's Not About NJ said at 5:46 pm on November 7th, 2013:

    “Me and only me” is part of the Christie strategy. He was unwilling to take the chance of attempting to turn some democrat assembly seats because if unsuccessful, it would hurt is White House bid. Winning the governorship by a big margin would be lost if he didn’t increase assembly seats for the republicans. It would be said he lacks influence to carry NJ for the republicans. He doesn’t care about the party or winning seats to push his NJ agenda. It’s not about NJ. It’s about him and the presidential election.

  5. Joe Wedick said at 7:13 pm on November 7th, 2013:

    So will it will be the NM Gov as his VP running mate? An Hispanic woman to broaden appeal in more than a few sectors of the electorate……

  6. Hold on about Sam, said at 3:14 pm on November 8th, 2013:

    say what you will, but in such a Dem county, Middlesex GOP has slowly begun to chip away at their machine, with such a crummy, gerrymandered map, and, hey, gave the 4th highest county number of votes to the Gov.. Their women’s club is extremely active, and is working hard to train potential candidates, call in expert speakers to meetings open to all, and work hard at the volunteer phones, sign crews, and doors tasks.. He must be doing some things right, and, won his own race by a huge margin- so, kudos to ol’ Sam from me!..

  7. Why was Kim said at 3:17 pm on November 8th, 2013:

    and her fam not brought up for a smile and a wave,at the end if his speech?? – anybody? ..I may have missed it, Rhoda was in there and her pictures show Kim up there, at some point, but not as ” the team,” at the end- I found that quite disturbing, though not unpredictable?

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