Key supporters of Anna Little’s 2010 congressional run are lining up behind Ernesto Cullari in his bid to win the GOP nomination for the 6th district seat occupied by Congressman Frank Pallone.
Asbury Park businessman Henry Vaccarro, Sr, a member of Little’s 2010 Finance Committee, endorsed Cullari this afternoon. Peter Carroll, the Middlesex County coordinator of Little’s 2010 effort has pledged to play the same role for Cullari should there be a primary. Charles Measley, a 60 hour per week volunteer for Little in 2010 is coordinating Cullari’s current effort.
Bayshore Tea Party Group co-founder Barabara Gonzalez told MMM that she was looking forward to interviewing Cullari when asked for comment on the potential race.
Little’s campaign manager, Larry Cirignano, was not available for comment.
Despite the lack of a formal announcement withdrawing from the U.S. Senate race and entering the CD-6 race, Little is expected before the Middlesex GOP screening committee this evening to ask for their CD-6 endorsement.
Cullari will also be seeking the Middlesex screening committee’s endorsement tonight.
Anna Little is not a lock for the Monmouth or Middlesex county Republican endorsements to take on Congressman Frank Pallone in the 6th district.
The news that Little will not challenge State Senator Joe Kyrillos for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination was met by party regulars and leaders with mild relief, followed by angst at the thought of her being on ticket in the coming campaign.
Party leaders are being cautious not to provoke Little back into the Senate race, an unlikely event as she has been uable to collect sufficient petition signatures for the Senate bid, but they would not be disappointed to see her sit this one out all together.
If she runs for Congress, Little has to be considered the front runner for the party endorsements. Yet many of the Monmouth and Middlesex County screening committee are taking a look at Enresto Cullari, the virtually unknown candidate who announced last week.
Seeing no candidates to challenge Pallone, Cullari decided to run last Wednesday and announced his candidacy on Friday as the news of Little’s switch from the Senate race to the Congressional race started to spread throughout the Monmouth and Middlesex GOP.
Cullari is positioning himself as the more disciplined and better financed choice to support Joe Kyrillos and the County slates.
In an email to screening committee members to be followed by mailer, Cullari said:
I believe that I can raise more money, launch a more disciplined offensive against Pallone, bring more positive attention to the Republican ticket and best help Senator Kyrillos carry on Governor Christie’s work for the state of New Jersey.
He attached this introduction letter touting his accomplishments, vision and unique ethnicity…he’s Filipino, Irish, Ecudorian and Africa…which he says poses a threat to the “grossly false assertions” that the Republican Party is “white and homogenous.”
The Middlesex GOP screening committee meets tonight to make its recommendation to the convention which will endorse a candidate on March 24th.
The Monmouth GOP nominating committee meets to award its endorsement on Friday morning, March 16.
For those who doubt the veracity of our sources here at MMM, and are waiting for an announcement from Anna Little that she is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race, consider that Little was working the room at State Senator Joe Kyrillos’s fundraiser in Holmdel tonight.
Expect an announcement from the former Highlands Mayor, no later than Wednesday, that she will seek the nomination to once again challenge Frank Pallone in the 6th Congressional District. The MiddlesexCounty GOP screening committee meets on Wednesday night. Little has confirmed to Middlesex GOP officials that she will be there seeking the 6th district nod.
Ernesto Cullari has also been invited to the Middlesex County screening.
The Monmouth County GOP primary line will be awarded by the nominating committee on Friday morning. The Middlesex County GOP primary line will be awarded at a convention on Saturday March 24.
Republican Primary in NJ-CD 6 between Anna Little and Ernesto Cullari looks likely
Anna Little, the former Monmouth County Freeholder and Mayor Highlands, will not be a candidate for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. She has started to gather petition signatures for the 6th congressional district nomination. An announcement is planned for early next week.
Little was the GOP nominee against Congressman Frank Pallone in the 6th in 2010.
When asked to confirm Little’s switch from the Senate race to the House race, campaign manager Larry Cirignamo said, “I don’t know.”
Little has been reaching out to county chairs this week, who are overwhelmingly supporting State Senator Joe Kyrillos for the U.S. Senate nomination. She cancelled a scheduled appearance for Republican Senate candidates with the New Jersey Tea Party Caucus.
Should Little decide to seek a rematch against Pallone, she will first have to get past a primary with Asbury Park resident Ernesto Cullari.
Cullari is a songwriter, producer and coach for young acting talent. His clients have performed for Disney and Nickelodeon. He is also an Orthopedic Consultant working in operating rooms installing dynamic splints. Cullari writes the weekly Justified Right column in The triCityNews.
Cullari told MMM that he decided to run for Congress on Wednesday of this week. He will pursue the nomination regardless of Little or anyone else entering the race. He will seek the support of the Monmouth and Middlesex County Republican organizations and compete in the primary.
The Monmouth County GOP is holding its candidate selection committee meeting on Friday morning March 16th. Middlesex County GOP is holding a convention on Saturday March 24th.
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich lost his primary race last night to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. Kucinich and Kaptur were forced to face each other as a result of redistricting.
Kucinich’s former national campaign manager, Monmouth County’s Vin Gopal, was not involved in this defeat.
Gopal, a candidate for Assembly in New Jersey’s 11th district last year, is running for Monmouth County Democratic Chairman against Marlboro Councilman Frank LaRocca.
Kaptur will face Samuel Wurzelbacher, AKA “Joe the plumber” in the November general election.
Our friend Charles Measley, who wakes up every morning thinking of what hell he can unleash on Frank Pallone’s life, is having a caption contest for this photo snapped of Pallone and Bob Menendez at yesterday’s Belmar St. Patrick’s Parade:
If you leave your caption on Charles’s Frank Pallone Not For New Jerseyfacebook page you will be eligible for a $10 Dunkin Donuts gift card courtesy of Charles.
If you leave your caption here, you can read app.com for free this week.
As Governor Christie has often said, Republicans underestimate President Barack Obama at their own peril.
Using the authority granted to him in the ObamaCare bill that had to be passed before America could find out what was in it, Obama mandated that contraceptives be covered by all health insurance plans, including those provided by employers affiliated with religions that are morally opposed to contraception.
Obama laid a trap for Republicans. They fell for it like a horny teenage girl whose boyfriend promised her he would pull out. It’s almost too late to reverse the consequences.
Now the national debate is over contraception. Not unemployment. Not foreclosures. Not war. Not terrorism. Not the price of gasoline. Not the national debt. Not the mandates of ObamCare. We’re having a national debate about contraception. Republicans have been framed as anti-contraception and as too far out of the mainstream to be a relevant political party.
Republicans could have framed this debate in context of their commitment to repeal ObamaCare if the law is not overturned by the Supreme Court. Instead they got into a national debate over contraception that will hamper, if not destroy, their chances of winning the White House and/or the Senate, even if the Court overturns ObamaCare.
Republicans in Washington and on the presidential campaign trail need to stop talking about contraception. They don’t have the votes to stop what Obama is doing. If they keep doing what they are doing, they never will.
Pallone and Payne, 17 others are tied for #1 most liberal members of congress
Republicans Smith and LoBiondo have higher liberal rankings than conservative rankings
National Journal has released its annual Congressional Voting Ratings and New Jersey has two congressman tied for the #1 most liberal member of congress based upon how they voted throughout 2011.
Frank Pallone, NJ-6, Long Branch, after being ranked the 70th most liberal member of congress in 2009, the 33rd most liberal in 2010, surged to the top of the list to earn a number 1 ranking in 2011.
Donald Payne of Newark, NJ-10, shares the #1 liberal ranking with Pallone and 17 other members throughout the country. Payne’s liberal ranking was 46 in 2009 and 113 in 2010.
Rush Holt, NJ-12 joins Pallone and Payne among the top 50 liberals, coming in at #43, a drop from his 14th place showing in 2010. Holt was #1 in 2009.
The most conservative member of New Jersey’s delegation? That would be Scott Garrett, NJ-5, which is really no surprise. What is surprising is that Garrett, who is often portrayed in the New Jersey media as a right wing fringe lunatic and the most conservative member of congress, is in the middle of the pack, ranked # 143 on the conservative scale.
NJ-3 freshman Jon Runyan’s #181 conservative ranking makes him the #2 conservative in the New Jersey delegation.
Leonard Lance, NJ-7 is ranked #191 on the conservative list. Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ-11 is #206.
Republicans Chris Smith, NJ-4, and Frank LoBiondo, NJ-2, have higher liberal rankings than conservative rankings. Smith is #195 on the liberal list and #235 on the conservative list. LoBiondo is #205 on the liberal list and #225 on the conservative list.
In the Senate, Frank Lautenberg is #14 on the liberal list. Bob Menendez is #31 on the liberal list.
For good reason, political pros consider a challenge to an incumbent congressman an unwinnable race. Given Frank Pallone’s war chest and the gerrymandering of the district, the conventional wisdom certainly applies in NJCD-6.
All too often the candidates who take on this challenge, “taking one for the team” feel bitter after the experience. They get no support, no money. They are on their own. When its over, they are rarely celebrated. They feel used, because they were.
A smart candidate taking on such a race would measure their success not on the ballot result, but on what they built. A candidate could take this on to lay the ground work for a future race, for this office or another. To get a message out and alter the agenda. To hold the incumbent’s feet to the fire or force them to spend time and money that they otherwise wouldn’t spend.
As we saw in 2010, a Republican challenger in CD-6 could win the Monmouth County portion of the district and still lose the election. That helps the ticket elsewhere on the ballot. Monmouth Demorcrats will attest to the fact that they lost on the municipal level in Bayshore towns in 2010 because of Anna Little beating Frank Pallone in those towns. In 2012, without a credible alternative to Pallone on the ballot, the GOP will give many voters a built in reason to ticket split. That would be detrimental to county and municipal candidates.
In selecting the 20 candidates for this poll, I omitted John Curley and Toni Marie Angelini from the list because they are running for reelection in their current offices. I added candidates mentioned in the comments. I added Charles Measley because 1) he included me in his poll, 2) Charles would drive Pallone crazy, and 3) Charles running would be fun. I added David Corsi for the same reasons.
With all the attention and excitement being paid to Joe Kyrillo’s U.S. Senate candidacy and a new map that most think makes Frank Pallone even harder to beat, there is little if any talk about a GOP candidate in the 6th Congressional District.
So let’s throw some names out there and have then have a poll. I start with names that come to mind. Please add names in the comments. Over the weekend I’ll create a poll.
Former Highlands Mayor Anna Little
Selika Josiah Gore, Marlboro
Matawan Councilwoman Toni Marie Angelini
Matawan Councilman Tom Fitzsimmons
Assemblywoman Amy Handlin
Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle
Keyport Mayor Bob McLeod
Former Middletown Committeeman Tom Wilkens
Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore
Hazlet Committeeman Scott Aagre
James Hogan of Long Branch
Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace
Former Freeholder Bill Barham
Former Assemblyman, triCityNews Publisher Dan Jacobson
The filing deadline is April 2.