I can imagine Menendez and Frank Pallone sharing a laugh over a latte about this one.
Also mentioned on what D’Aprile described as the NJ GOP’s “thin bench” are Monmouth County Senators Joe Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, NJ Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr, and former Senator Bill Baroni, now a Port Authority executive.
Scott Sipprelle and Diane Gooch should be on the list of potential Menendez challengers, especially given the NJ GOP’s historical preference for U.S. Senate candidates with the ability to self-fund their campaigns.
Sipprelle should be on the top of the list, if he would do it. His temperment and policy ambitions are more suited for the Senate than the House. Politically, Sipprelle could compete well with Menendez in Bergen County, Western Essex and much of Passaic. Menendez’s stategy would be to dominate Hudson, Bergen, Essex and Passiac, according to Democratic strategist Tony Bawidamann as quoted by D’Aprile. Sipprelle, who lived in Bergen prior to moving to Princeton, is better suited to suppress Menendez’s support in the north than the other names on the list. With a strong showing in Monmouth and Ocean combined with a competitive north, Sipprelle might actually win.
A lot can, and probably will, change in two years. If President Obama’s popularity recovers with the economy and he’s poised to win New Jersey by 15% again, Little could be the GOP nominee because no one else on the bench would want the slot and if there are no millionaires like Gooch or John Crowley willing to wage a vanity campaign.
Like many of you, I had hoped for victory in our two local Congressional races on November 2nd. I thought that we had captured lightning in a bottle, with the Tea Party carrying Anna to success over Frank Pallone and Scott’s millions carrying him to success over Rush Holt. Like many of you, I was sorely disappointed.
However, that disappointment has now been replaced by bewilderment.
Who are these people?
It all started on Election Night, when Anna announced the creation of not one, not two, but three new Political Action Committees. Really, three PACs? How will she raise money for three new PACs? What purpose will they serve? That same night, her Campaign Manager told a reporter for the Two River Times, owned by Diane Gooch, that Anna was running again “Whether your boss plans on running or not”. This comment has sparked a “cold War” between Anna’s camp and Diane’s camp. Just plain dumb.
But perhaps it really started with Anna prior to Election Night, during the waning days of the campaign, when she alienated many of Anna’s Army by cozying up to the establishment hacks that began courting her only when it looked like she had a chance. Some thought she had abandoned the Tea Party supporters that had put her in the position to have a chance. There was talk of the Tea Party supporters “crashing” the stage when she claimed victory and had only establishment types on stage with her.
Meanwhile, back in Highlands, the Borough that has had “Little Government” for a few years, is in a fiscal nosedive. A massive budget deficit, layoffs, and talk of simply giving up and merging with Middletown or Atlantic Highlands are issues that have been left in the bag being held by the new Mayor. Is it any wonder that her hometown broke for Pallone?
Scott Sipprelle on the other hand, has now found someone besides Jamestown Associates and demographics to blame for his loss. He has been sourced as the writer of a letter sent to Mercer County GOP Chair Roy Wesley advising of a “no confidence” vote by the Mercer County Committee. (Let’s get one thing straight: Roy Wesley may very well be an incompetent Chairman. But that’s not the point)
You may recall that last Spring, Roy Wesley was the only one of five County Chairs that came out prior to any conventions and endorsed Scott Sipprelle over his opponents. Dale Florio in Somerset, Henry Kuhl in Hunterdon, Joe Leo in Middlesex and Joe Oxley in Monmouth all at least pretended to be neutral. It was only Roy Wesley, Chair in Mercer that publicly stuck his neck out for his hometown candidate.
How is he thanked? By Scott Sipprelle authoring a letter and airing Mercer County GOP dirty laundry all over the Trentonian and Politickernj. The letter clearly lays out an undercurrent of fault for Scott Sipprelle’s embarrassment in Mercer County. What the letter doesn’t mention is whether Roy Wesley was responsible for the decision to have Scott spend the last two weeks of the campaign defending himself from Rush Holt’s use of the property tax issue, instead of attacking Holt, or whether Roy Wesley was responsible for the “How do you pronounce my name” media campaign, or whether Roy Wesley was the one who told Scott to spend significant time and resources in Trenton, when he should have been increasing his lead in the suburbs.
Who are these people?
Is Scott Sipprelle a self-made millionaire with loyal Republican convictions? Or is he an ungrateful child who blames others for his short-comings?
Is Anna Little a Tea Party darling with all the right moves? Or is she an at-best average Mayor who believes her own press releases?
Among the email messages which arrived this week was one that read,”You didn’t lose. You just ran out of time to meet every voter and convince them face-to-face.” Please remember that while we came up just short in this race, we did knock a massive 23 points off the incumbent’s average win percentage over the last two elections (28% in 2008 and 32% in 2006). He will never be the same.
The Cause Continues.
While this political campaign is over, the cause which united us continues. It continues because the battle for common sense solutions to America’s problems is not resolved. It continues because the need for good government has never been more urgent. It continues because each of you, inspired to make a difference, is not yet satisfied that your work is done.
It’s a Wonderful Life.
This, courtesy of another touching email message: “In his desperation, your opponent tried to paint you as the wealthy and self-serving Mr. Potter. But over 90,000 voters knew better. You are George Bailey. You have inspired change in the 12th District and it will never be the same again because of your candidacy.”
It is now time for me to exit the stage.
While I do not know what awaits me on the other side of the new sunrise, I can say with total conviction that Tracy and I have enjoyed immensely the journey we shared together over these last months. The friendships made and stories collected will provide ample material for a lifetime. Now, I am looking forward to immersing myself anew into my business affairs, to play my part in funding the new companies which can help to restore America’s economic vitality. But, rest assured, out of the corner of one eye I will continue watching the political arena with interest.
Video Tribute.
Please take a moment to view this campaign retrospective:
From the top of the ticket to the bottom, the Monmouth GOP under the leadership of Chairman Joe Oxley, earned a resounding and undeniable endorsement from the voters of Monmouth County last Tuesday.
On the top of the ticket, the three Republican candidates for Congress crushed their competition. The combined Monmouth County results of Congressman Chris Smith (CD-4), Mayor Anna Little (CD-6) and Scott Sipprelle (CD-12) were 109,151 to 68,020 over their Democratic opponents, a margin on 62% to 38%. Unfortunately, due to gerrymandering, Monmouth County is represented by only one Republican in Congress and two Democrats.
On the bottom of the ballot, in the 24 municipalities where there were contests, Republicans won in 15 towns, Democrats in 8 and one town split. In the 19 towns where there were no contests 14 are controlled by Republicans, 2 by Democrats, 2 are non-partisan. One town, Oceanport, had one Republican and one Democrat running uncontested.
The heart of the ticket, county candidates Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton and Freeholder-elect Tom Arnone worked as if they were behind from the beginning of the campaign until the end. They ran on their records and made their case. The voters chose them each with pluralities of over 35,000 votes.
Even with these results, there are some who continue to whine or snipe about Chairman Oxley. Those people should look beyond their personal agendas to the big picture. Congratulations to Chairman Oxley, to the team he has built and the teams he has empowered.
The losses in CD 6 & 12 were disappointing for many who worked hard on those campaigns. This was the year to take down Frank Pallone and Rush Holt. Coming closer than anyone has ever come before does not lessen the sting.
The optimism in 6 and 12 was predicated in the assumption that Independents would break for Republicans and that Democrats would not be motivated to turnout. Governor Christie’s victories in the districts last year were the original basis of the optimism. Overall dissatisfaction with the Obama administration and national polls showing a large enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans spurred the optimism that Democratic turnout would be suppressed.
Polls showing the congressional races close woke the Pallone and Holt camps up. Particularly Adam Geller’s poll for the Little camp that showed Little within 1 point of defeating Pallone. “You never should have released that poll,” one Democratic insider said in a friendly post-mortem, “half of our team scoffed at the poll, the other half said ‘so what if its not true, something is happening nationally, we can’t take any chances.” It was then that both Pallone and Holt stepped up their negative ads and prepared their GOTV efforts.
The ads worked. Both Little’s and Sipprelle’s unfavorable ratings increased in the Monmouth University polls released the week before the election. The Democratic GOTV efforts, particularly in the cities of Plainfield and Trenton were the electoral equivalent of shock and awe.
Monmouth County has yet to release town by town numbers, making an accounting for Little’s under performance in the Monmouth portion of the district difficult. Long Branch and Asbury Park did not have local races. Thus none of the results in those cities are posted on the county website . In Neptune Township there was 3150 under votes in the Township Committee race for the Democratic strong hold. That means there were 3150 voters who cast a ballot but did not vote in the local race. It is a safe bet that Long Branch, Asbury Park and Neptune Township account for Little winning Monmouth by only 4%, while Smith won his portion of the county by over 50 % and Sipprelle by 24%.
Urban Democratic strongholds in Trenton and Plainfield figured prominently in the outcomes of the Congressional races in NJ 12 and 6.
In the 12th district, Trenton voters provided Rush Holt with 8,044 votes to Scott Sipprelle’s 437. Holt won the entire district by 13,836 votes.
In NJ-6, 43% of Frank Pallone’s margin of victory came from Plainfield were he won 7950 votes to Anna Little’s 667. Democratic sources told MMM that Pallone spent $30,000 to get out the vote in Plainfield.
Tracy and I are so grateful for your tireless support and friendship. It has been the thrill of a lifetime to have had the opportunity to address your concerns and represent your aspirations.
While this campaign will be quickly forgotten, the cause which united us will not, and can not, fade. More important than winning one election is our shared and urgent priority to repair the nation.
Please stay committed to the cause.
Middlesex County just updated there results and Frank Pallone has opened an 8000 vote lead in the county, easily besting Anna Little’s 2800 lead in Monmouth. Middlesex has only reported 53% of the district.
Scott Sipprelle has dominated the Monmouth vote. With 98% of the Monmouth districts reporting, Sipprelle leads by 11,000 votes. Holt leads in Middlesex by 4,000 votes with 83% reporting. In Mercer County, Holt leads by 15,000.
