Cullari Wins The Monmouth GOP Endorsement In NJ CD-6
Political newcomer Ernesto Cullari defeated Anna Little for the Monmouth County GOP endorsement for Congress from New Jersey’s 6th district.
By a margin described as “reasonably close” the Monmouth GOP nominating committee selected Cullari, an Asbury Park businessman and conservative columnist for the triCityNews over Little, the former Freeholder, former Mayor of Highlands and the 2010 nominee for Congress against Frank Pallone. Little defeated Diane Gooch, owner of the Two River Times and Monmouth GOP Vice Chair in the 2010 primary.
The tally was taken by voice vote followed by a show of hands. Upon announcing Cullari the winner, Chairman Joe Oxley asked for and received a unanimous nomination by acclamation for Cullari.
The race for the nomination now heads back to Middlesex County which will hold a convention on March 24. The Middlesex GOP screening committee endorsed Little by 27-3 earlier this week. By rule, she will be the recommended candidate. However, the convention voters are not bound by the screening committee’s recommendation.
In 2010, the Middlesex GOP screening committee selected then Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre by just less than the 2/3 margin that would have given Halfacre the formal recommendation of the committee. Halfacre lost the convention endorsement to Scott Sipprelle after then incoming County Chairman Sam Thompson interupted Halfacre’s speech to support Sipprelle.
It is rare, but not unprecedented, that the Monmouth and Middlesex GOPs would endorse different candidates for the same office. In the 2005 legislative primary, Middlesex County endorsed Assemblyman Joe Azzolina for reelection while Freeholder Amy Handlin was endorsed for Assembly by the Monmouth GOP.
More from my site
CD-6 Primary: It will all come down to turnout
Patrick Murray predicts that Cullari will defeat Little
Little Still Not Registered With FEC As A Candidate For Congress- Cullari not deterred by GOP Split in Congressional District 6, New Jersey
Little Announces For Congress, Claims GOP Support- Cullari Issues A Debate Challenge to Little
Anna Little Wins GOP 6th District Nomination
Cullari Challenges Little to First Debate of Primary Season with No Response
Little attends Kyrillos’s fundraiser
Cullari: Little Blew It Against Pallone
If Joe Kyrillos “sucked Anna in” to the idea that the Monmouth GOP would support her, causing her to drop from the Senate race, and then leaving her high and dry
At this point, I am inclined to support Ernesto
Do you honestly mean that such a despicable (Obama style) agenda would have legs as mentioned by ‘me wonders’???? Not in MY America!
@ Me Wonders
This is what I know, Anna dropped out of the Senate race because she couldn’t even get half of the signatures required to place her on the ballot.
Ernesto is a fresh new face who can reach out to communities and groups that would not normally consider the Republican ticket and can help bring them into our great party!
Wish I lived in Monmouth County. The GOP in Middlesex County and the municipal chairs are run by people who voted in their first election during the 1930s.
Hold it whoever you are! Don’t make light of all kinds that band together on battlefields to keep our country great! Hopefully our
SIGNIFICANT accomplishments will not become INSIGNIFICANT by allowing destruction from within. Let’s ‘keep our eye on the Sparrow!’
Rumor has it Carpetbagger Larry is looking at new porches to live under……………
apparently Anna has a new campaign manager, her name is Nora Craig. She is the Local Coordinator, Franklinville Tea Party
Franklin Township, NJ
Nora Craig is a retired Information Technology executive with 25 years experience in various industry settings.
She has been published in security management strategy guides and served on IBM strategic advisory councils, and local government planning and environmental boards. In 2005, she organized a Katrina Aid drive and received a congressional citation for her work. She has served on several boards of directors of non-profit organizations.
Currently, Nora farms in Franklin Township, New Jersey with her husband and family. She is a U.S. Navy veteran, serving as an Air Traffic Controller from 1970-1973. Jessica, her daughter, is currently serving in the New Jersey Air Guard.
She is associated with Mark Falzones Tea Party Patriots group.
I bet she is fired before the primary vote.
I am so proud of Ernesto Cullari for winning the support of the Monmouth County Republican Committee.
I am honored that they view Ernesto as the best person to challenge Frank Pallone and help the other Republicans on the ticket this November!
All I can say is thank God that common sense ruled in Monmouth County. One cannot begin to list all of the reasons why Anna is such a horrendous candidate. The more I hear about Ernesto, the more I like him. He could definitely draw votes away from groups that almost always vote Democrat down the line and would have a unifying effect on his fellow Republicans. And most importantly for those of us who are veterans of campaign events, I heard that he can’t sing.
Even though Anna won Middlesex 27-3, Sam Thompson will implore the CD6 delegates at the Middlesex convention to vote for Cullari. Since Thompson seems to have few friends these days, he will probably fail which will give Anna the line in Middlesex in June and Cullari the line in Monmouth. Given the population shift to Middlesex, Anna should be the Republican candidate after the June primary.
Cullari spoke at the Middlesex screening but did not appear to have any platform on any issue. He talked about his family, but never said anything to warrant a vote.
Art, you’re right in your last paragraph, however, that 2005 primary nominating process for the Assembly was done out of spite (in Monmouth County at least) to get Azzolina out, because he pissed off a lot of people who back and supported him for years, thinking that he was above the law and could do anything because he was Joe Azzolina. The difference then from now is that Azzolina was a sitting elected official and was representing Old Bridge in Middlesex County which is why he got the line there. Neither one of these candidates running for Congress are elected officials. I have a feeling Middlesex County will follow Monmouth County’s lead and give the line to Cullari. The real story here, however, is that Anna Little has burned ALL her bridges in Monmouth County. For her not to get the line in Monmouth County with the suppose support of Joe Kyrillos, being elected as a Freeholder of the County, being Mayor of a Borough in Monmouth County, AND being the nominee for Congress in 2010, and you can’t get the line in your home county? That’s pretty sad if you ask me!
Wait for the official announcement next week that she will be seeking the office of President of the United States.
Rullo was quite articulate at all the speaking events to date.
He did quite well I heard at the Middlesex screening. He definately has my vote.
Atleast Rullo was able to get the signatures required to be put on the ballot. His name recognition is huge in Ocean County. Many insiders think he can beat Menendez by 80,000 votes in Ocean County.
Did Rullo get the endorsement of the Ocean GOP?
Enough with Joe Rullo. His candidacy is a goof. He is a legend in his own mind who hasn’t done one thing except try and promote himself as some Ocean County celebrity loved by all. No one I know from Ocean County has even heard of him. A joke who makes Dan Jacobson look legitimate. Joe Kyrillos will be the candidate and will beat Menendez in a close race.
@Reality Check…..you almost had me until your last sentence. If you think Joe Kyrillos is going to beat Menendez with Obama on top of the ticket, in New Jersey, you may need the reality check.
If reality check was from Ocean County he would know Rullo is a golden boy. He will win just like all of his friends do. His name recognition is second to none of the other candidates in Ocean County get REAL.
You and your “rullobot” friends write like little children, spewing something that is far from the truth. “Go away, just please go away.”
Joe Rullo, if you want to hawk solar panels, why don’t you take an ad on Art’s page instead of trying to get people to your supposed “Senate Campaign Site” where the first thing people see is your solar energy business.
You have zip, zero, nada, NO chance of getting the nomination, let alone winning.
Ok, I’ll play along. Please give us a summary of Rullo’s past accomplishments and qualifications.
So that was his name-Rullo. In Middlesex he lost to Kyrillos 42-1. We were wondering which Middlesex voter got the $20.00 bill.
Rullo has a history of standing up to corrupt politicians.
Rullo advocated a new veterans clinic in south Jersey that is now a state commission.
Rullo works with veterans to get them hearings for disability.
Rullo is a successful operative that resulted in years of Republican victories within Ocean County for even Governor Christie.
Rullo worked with unemployed and business start-ups for free to get careers & new business.
Rullo did free development and studies for several municipalities in NJ saving taxpayers money.
Amongst a few accomplishments.
Congratulations, Ernesto. You can “Dethrone Pallone”! Run hard and make the Middlesex GOP listen. Hint: Win over the newly-elected Old Bridge town leadership. Your campaign people can make that town tail wag the county dog.
[…] lost the Monmouth County Republican endorsement for congress from the sixth district to political […]
Thanks “Rullo for Senate” for proving that this guy has absolutely nothing concrete in his background to offer as a candidate. Whenever you see “advocated for” “worked with” and “supported” instead of “was elected to” or “served as” or “was appointed to” you know you have a complete zero with no record who is so delusional he feels he can start with the U.S. Senate as his first foray into elected office. A complete joke, a buffoon, and frighteningly out of touch with reality.
Rullo did “quite well” at the Middlesex screening? Give me a break! He lost the vote 43-1 to Kyrillos (who wasn’t even there), and frankly, I’m surprised Rullo got that many! First of all, the guy couldn’t even find anyone to nominate him, so they let him proceed un-nominated. Then he gave this incoherent speech that sounded unprepared, during which he repeatedly demonstrated a complete ignorance of the process, thinking, as he seemed to, that the screening committee was actually the convention. The presentation was entirely inarticulate and scatterbrained. He did try to string together a few sentence fragments to the effect that Menendez should have been prosecuted but wasn’t because Menendez and the prosecutor knew each other, though he was unclear as to what specifically he was talking about. Then he mumbled something about how “Washington needs to re-open the case or something,” and somehow he would do that as a senator, even though he also seemed to indicate it was a state-level case, and clearly didn’t know a thing about criminal law. In any event, he proposed no ideas, no solutions, and no reason to vote for him, in the process handily winning the annual “Candidate Who Had No Business Being Here” award. For a candidate who seems opposed to waste, he certainly wasted a lot of people’s time, including his own.
Congratulations, Art. The Kyrillos staff is reading.
Sam Thompson did not interrupt Halfacre’s speech at the 2010 convention, though he did deliver a tongue-lashing to the Fair Haven Mayor for under-handed tactics when he addressed the delegates. Winning in Middlesex, however, has nothing to do with endorsements. The vast majority of delegates (nearly 700 for NJ12 vote in 2010) are not politcally connected Republicans who are recruited to attend by the candidates themselves.
OuttaState said at 11:06 am on March 19th, 2012:
Sam Thompson did not interrupt Halfacre’s speech at the 2010 convention
Yes he did.
[…] she had the support of GOP leaders for congressional candidacy, despite the fact that she lost the Monmouth GOP endorsement to Ernesto Cullari on Friday March […]