Hanlon Scores More Endorsements For Monmouth GOP Chair

Assemblyman Rob Clifton, Sheriff Shaun Golden, Surrogate Rosemarie Peters and Freeholder Tom Arone, Gary Rich and Serena DiMaso have joined the long line of Monmouth County elected officials who are supporting Christine G. Hanlon in her quest to become the first female Chair of the Monmouth County Republican Organization.

They sent the following letter to County Committee members earlier this week:

We are writing today to express our strong support for Christine Hanlon to become our next Republican County Chair.  Reorganization of our party will take place on June 12, 2012 at 7pm at the Colts Neck High School.  We urge you to come to reorganization and cast your vote for Christine Hanlon for County Chair.

Over the years, Christine Hanlon has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to electing Republicans at every level of government.  She served as the Monmouth Coordinator, under Chairman Joe Oxley, for national, state and county races.  Christine was the coordinator for the McCain-Palin campaign in 2008, the Christie-Guadagno campaign in 2009, and our county campaigns in 2010 and 2011.  She also assisted with state legislative campaigns for years.

The success our party has achieved in recent years is due in large part to Christine’s tireless efforts.  She has the unique experience, skills and leadership abilities needed to lead our party into the future. 

Our candidates need a strong leader with unparalleled organizational skills and the knowledge of our county-wide Republican operation.  Christine Hanlon has the experience and the ability to ensure that Monmouth County will remain in Republican control and that our candidates and party have the resources we need to win.

This year, the Democrats will have a new County Chairman and will work hard to win two seats on the Freeholder Board and the constitutional office of County Clerk.  They will also seek to defeat our national candidates by increasing Democrat voter turnout in Monmouth County.  We must not let that happen!  We need to maintain the stability of our organization and continue the progress we have made over the past four years. We must continue moving forward!

We strongly and enthusiastically support Christine Hanlon for Monmouth Republican Chair.  Join us in showing your support for Christine at the Colts Neck High School on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 at 7pm.

• Tweet

Little Wins Big In CD-6

Former Highlands Mayor Anna Little won the GOP nomination in the 6th congressional district and another chance to take on Congressman Frank Pallone in general election.

By a margin of 70%-30% percent Little defeated newcomer Ernesto Cullari.  Cullari had the Monmouth GOP endorsement yet 59% of Monmouth voters chose Little.   In Middlesex County, where Little had the organizational support, she earned 83% of the votes cast.

• Tweet

Anna Little Wins GOP 6th District Nomination

MoreMonmouthMusings is projecting that former Highland Mayor Anna Little as the 6th congressional district primary winner.

With 76% of the districts reporting in the Monmouth County portion of the district, Little leads Ernesto Cullari 61% to 39%.

With 30% of the districts reporting in Middlesex County, Little has 85% of the vote to Cullari’s 14%.

• Tweet

Kyrillos Wins Big In Ocean and Monmouth Counties

State Senator Joe Kyrillos is the New Jersey GOP nominee for U. S. Senate.

In Ocean County, with 99.5% of the vote reported, Kyrillos has 78.5% with 17,538 votes.

David Douglas Brown came in second in Ocean Co with 9.6%.  Joseph “Rudy” Rullo is third with 6% and Badar Qarmout is last with 5.6%.

In Monmouth County, with 90% of the district reporting, Kyrillos has 82% of the vote.   Rullo is second with 8.6%, Brown third with 5.4% and Qarmout last with 4%.

• Tweet

Little Leads In Monmouth County With A Wide Margin

With 76 % of the Monmouth County 6th congressional districts reporting, former Highlands Mayor Anna Little is leading Ernesto Cullari by a margin of  60.30 % to 39.47%.

Little has 2,869 votes to Cullari’s 1878.

Middlesex County has not reported any Republican results yet.

At this point, it is very very likely that Anna Little will be the 6th district Republican nominee.

• Tweet

Little leading in Middlesex mail in count

MMM has learned that Anna Little is ahead of Ernesto Cullari in the Middlesex County mail-in votes by 124-32.

• Tweet

Clean Up

A 2 man DOT crew picking up Cullari and Little signs on Route 36 in Belford this afternoon. The crew said they were not members of the Bayshore Tea Party Group

• Tweet

Asbury Park Press Laments Lack Of Competitive Primaries Yet Fail To Do Their Part

Yesterday the Neptune Nudniks ran an editorial lamenting the lack of competition in the primaries.

This morning The Star Ledger reported that there are five candidates seeking the two major party nominations for U.S. Senate, 44 candidates for 13  congressional seats (they should have said 12 seats or 24 nominations) and 8 candidates for three special election primaries for State Assembly.

There are two GOP primary races in The Asbury Park Press’s coverage area.  The CD-6 race between Monmouth GOP candidate Ernesto Cullari and Middlesex GOP candidate Anna Little, and the CD-4 race between incumbent Congressman Chris Smith and Terrence McGowan of Howell.

A search for “Anna Little” reveals that the former Highlands mayor’s name has not appeared on the site since February. “Ernesto Cullari” produced no results in a search of the site.   On May 14 a letter to the editor in support of McGowan in CD-4 was published.  Nothing else.  Congressman Smith has made international headlines recently for his work to secure Chen Guangcheng’s release from China.  Yet the APP is interested only in what Smith is doing for Lakewood’s schools, an issue that Smith’s office has no authority over.  APP.com also reported that a 71 year old Manchester woman drove her car into the side of Smith’s Whiting office last November.

This is not to say that the press should cover every candidate that collects signatures to get on a primary ballot.  Earned media should indeed be earned and so-called “fringe” candidates should be challenged to earn their coverage.  MMM is aware that it could have made the CD-4 race more competitive than the rout it will be with Smith getting over 80% of the vote.  However, McGowan did nothing to earn coverage on MMM.  The first we heard from anybody in the McGowan campaign was last week when we were invited by a reader to a meet and greet a couple of hours before it started.

But there is no excuse for the APP’s lack of coverage of the CD-6 race where the competing candidates each earned the endorsement of a county Republican organization.  That is a story.

One could argue, and the Nudniks do as an excuse for their lack of coverage in their editorial, that the gerrymandered congressional districts make the CD-4 and CD-6 races uncompetitive and the end result of each election is a fait accompli. 

Where were they during the redistricting process?  They ran an editorial lamenting the gerrymandering after fact, but provided little coverage that would have increased public awareness before or during the process.

How do the Nudniks think that voters will get their information about the electorial process?  They are very supportive of pay to play restrictions that make it more difficult for candidates and parties to get their messages out, yet the APP does little to pick up the slack or provide coverage to to the electoral process.

• Tweet

Gonzalez denies stealing signs. Threatens legal action

Bayshore Tea Party Group founder Barbara Gonzalez said “I have never done that and I never would” regarding the report on MMM on Saturday that a Cullari for Congress volunteer said she and BTPG activist Joe Abbruscato were spotted stealing Cullari’s signs in Middletown.

In an email to MMM Gonzalez said her attorney advised her to request a retraction and an apology or proof that she stole the signs.

On facebook Gonzalez threatened to sue Cullari’s Middlesex County coordinator Peter Carrol, campaign manager Charles Measley and “a certain blogger” unless proof of the allegations is produced by 9PM.

MMM contacted the campaign volunteer who says he witnessed the theft at about 7:40 PM on Friday.  He said he “definately saw Joey with the signs.  Barbara’s Jeep was pulled over so she was likely around.”

Rob Little, the former Highlands Mayor’s husband, called MMM shortly after our report was posted to say that Gonzalez was with him all night on Friday and that she could not have been involved in the theft.  MMM immediately updated the report with Little’s story.

• Tweet

Patrick Murray predicts that Cullari will defeat Little

Monmouth University Polling Director Patrick Murray says on PolitickerNJ that Ernesto Cullari will defeat Anna Little in the CD-6 GOP primary based on Senator Joe Kyrillos coattails and “the bigger issue” that some of Little’s key supporters have fallen out with her since the 2010 race.

I wonder who Patrick is referring to.

CD6 GOP
2010 nominee Anna Little hopes lightning strikes twice and she knocks off the Monmouth County organization’s preferred candidate – this time, Ernesto Cullari.  But it just ain’t gonna happen.  It’s not because the party has gotten any better at GOTV.  Fewer than 14,000 Republicans voted in the last primary – and the only reason more will vote this year is that native son Joe Kyrillos is running for Senate.  The bigger issue is that some of Little’s key supporters have fallen out with her since the last race.  Winner:  Cullari

Murray predicts that 15% of partisan voters will come out on Tuesday statewide.   If the turnout is higher in Monmouth because of Kyrillos’ favorite son status, that should favor Cullari.  Little benefits from Kyrillos’s coattails in Middlesex where she appears under the senator on the ballot. 

Despite Murray’s swipe at the Monmouth GOP get out the vote effort, the real key to this race is will be the turnout in Middlesex.   If Sam Thompson’s team gets 5000 or more voters to the polls, Little should win.   In the 2010 race less than 3800 Middlesex Republicans voted.  However the Middlesex portion of the district is much larger now since redistricting.  If less than 5000 voters come out in Middlesex and 6000 come out in Monmouth, Cullari wins.   If 10,000 come out in Monmouth because of Kyrillos, Cullari wins handily.

MMM’s prediction:  In a repeat of 2010, the race will go to a recount. 

Unlike 2010 the race, the recount won’t be resolved before the Monmouth GOP convention.  Little will get up at the convention and endorse John Bennett for Chair as a payback for headlining her $10 per head spaghetti dinner fundraiser in Keansburg.  Cullari will get up and endorse Christine Hanlon because she’s Christine Hanlon.

Little will be forced to concede on June 15 in order to pay her fines from the FEC.  She won’t have enough money to pay her recount team and the fines.  John Bennett, fresh off his defeat in the Chair’s race, will be in Florida and unable to host a spaghetti dinner to pay Little’s fines and pay the recount team.

• Tweet