PolitickerNJ is reporting that “several Republican sources” told them that Governor Chris Christie could appoint former State Attorney General David Samson to New Jersey’s vacant U.S. Senate seat as early as today.
Samson would be a placeholder, meaning that he would not run in the Special Election Christie called for October 16 to retain the seat.
Samson was Attorney General during the first year of the McGreevey administration. He served in Governor Tom Kean’s administration as General Counsel to the NJ Turnpike Authority and as Chairman of the Governor’s Commission on the Laws Governing the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ). In the Florio administration, Samson was a member of the Governor’s Commission on Health Care Costs.
Samson was counsel to Christie’s 2009 gubernatorial campaign and Chairman of Christie’s Transition Team. Christie nominated Samson to Chair the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, a position he has held since February of 2011.
Christie was U.S. Attorney while Samson was State Attorney General. Both of their lives were threatened by the Latin Kings street gang.
Samson is a founding member of the Wolf and Samson law firm. The firm has offices in West Orange, New York and Trenton.
Even the liberal media is smelling blood in Senator Bob Menendez’s water. Sometimes a week really is a lifetime in politics.
MSNBC political analyst Steve Kornacki went on the Rachel Maddow Show to talk about the potential political fallout of Menendez scandal.
Kornacki said that Jets owner Woody Johnson would likely be Governor Christie’s choice to fill Menendez’s seat should the senator leave office this year in time for a special election in November.
Television personality Geraldo Rivera announced on his radio show this morning that he is considering seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2014, according to The Hill.
“I mention this only briefly, fasten your seatbelt,” Rivera said on his radio show. “I mentioned this only briefly to my wife … but I am and I’ve been in touch with some people in the Republican Party in New Jersey. I am truly contemplating running for Senate against Frank Lautenberg or Cory Booker.”
“I’m not going to drill this out, because obviously I’ve got commitments to Fox and to here at the radio program and I’m really having a great time,” Rivera added. “But I figure at my age, if I’m going to do it I’ve got to do it. And there doesn’t seem to be any Republicans ready to work against or run against Corey Booker, the popular Newark mayor.”
Riviera is a former Monmouth County resident and the former owner of The Two River Times. He currently lives in Edgewater, Bergen County.
The Hill says Rivera could face a tough primary should he seek the nomination.
Rivera could face a tough primary challenge, however, with reports suggesting that Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick of Westfield, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos of Monmouth County and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno are all weighing bids for the GOP ticket.
Don’t count on that. If Rivera is willing to spend his own millions on a Senatorial run, the NJ GOP would clear the decks for him, barring another televison personality with millions to spend, like Lou Dobbs, getting into the race.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate today passed the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, one week after the House passed a similar assistance measure, which will keep New Jersey’s recovery on track and allow New Jersey and other Superstorm Sandy-impacted states—New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania—to rebuild in the wake of the storm. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who represents the hard-hit disaster areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties, noted that the federal aid is needed to recover from the worst natural disaster in his state’s history.
The Joe Kyrillos for U.S. Senate Campaign launched a new website yesterday, CheapTalkBob.com
The site centers on a video of Bob Menendez’s constant chatter about the middle class, with facts that prove he does nothing to help the middle class.
Six years ago, Senator Menendez campaigned on a message of job creation for the middle class, but instead gave us a national unemployment rate that ballooned from 4.7% to 8.2%, a national debt that has nearly doubled, and a deficit which has more than quadrupled. Talk is cheap and Bob Menendez’s inaction continues to make things worse for the middle class.
Middle class families need a real reformer like Joe Kyrillos. Senator Kyrillos doesn’t just talk about reform, he’s implementing it for middle class families across New Jersey. Senator Kyrillos, under the leadership of Governor Christie and with the help of like-minded reformers, has worked to balance the state’s budget without raising taxes, cut spending, stopped borrowing, and reformed programs like the pension system. Election year rhetoric, like Bob Menendez’s cheap talk about the middle class, is no excuse for consistently voting to raise taxes, explode debt and stifle job creation.
“Bob Menendez thinks that if he talks enough about helping the middle class, people will start to believe that he actually is,” said Senator Kyrillos. “But you can’t hide from the facts. Bob Menendez has been consistently making things worse. He is making it harder for businesses to expand, and create more jobs. He is making families insecure about their financial decisions because of the frailty of the economy. He is hurting our friends, families, and neighbors, who have worked hard to succeed but have fallen on hard times. Those that want a better job, and to make a better living for their families. His constant talk about making things better for them is just that—talk.”
Monmouth Tea Party Coalition President Frank Cotton announced via email tonight that he has collected 42 petition signatures for the U. S. Senate candidacy of potential Constitution Party candidate Marilynn English. Cotton asked that 50 people of his group step up t0 collect 30 signatures each.
English, of Verona in Essex County, is a licensed mortage banker. She was formerly employed by JP Morgan as an Assistant Vice President in the Mergers and Acquisitions.
English told MMM that she was approached by leaders of the Constitution Party to run for U.S. Senate two weeks ago. To her knowledge she has 100 signatures. 800 valid signatures are required for an third party candidate to get onto the general election ballot. Petitions are due with the Secretary of State on Tuesday, June 5 at 4PM.
She ran for Essex County Executive in 2010 as an Independent Democrat and for Essex County Freeholder at Large in 2011, also as an Independent Democrat.
English is a member of the Verona Rent Control Board and a former member of Verona’s Budget Review Committee.
West New York Mayor Felix Roque is endorsing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Kyrillos over his fellow Hudson County Democrat, Senator Robert Menendez, in this November’s election, according to a report at Politickernj.
State Senator Joe Kyrillos will officially launch his campaign for U.S. Senate with two events tomorrow.
The first event will be in Kyrillos’ hometown of Middletown; 11am at the Lincroft Inn, 700 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738.
In the afternoon, Kyrillos travels to Burlington County. His 3PM event will be at the Gibson House-Evesham Community Center, 535 E.Main Street, Marlton, NJ 08053
Prominent Republican pollster and FoxNews analyst Adam Geller says that today’s FDU poll which has U.S. Senator Robert Menendez beating either Republican State Senator Joe Kyrillos or former Highlands Mayor Anna Little by a 43%-31%, is very bad news for Menendez.
In a memo to the Kyrillos for Senate Exploritory Committee obtained by MMM Geller said:
The takeaway from today’s FDU poll is Bob Menendez is very vulnerable and this is a real opportunity for a good candidate to defeat him. Any incumbent under 50% is in trouble and Menendez is under 45%, which means he is in major trouble. That is Jon Corzine territory
Joe Kyrillos, even though not yet a candidate, would make a very strong opponent for Menendez because of his personal and fundraising base and his consistently strong fiscally conservative voting record in New Jersey.
I would also note that only 28% of voters think the country is headed in the right direction. That is a terrible number for an incumbent arguing that he ought to be re-elected.
The bottom line of this poll is that if Joe Kyrillos were to jump into this race, Bob Menendez is in serious trouble.
America is in trouble. We have a massive debt hanging over us, a tax and regulatory burden stifling job creation and innovation, and a government we can no longer afford but cannot seem to rein in. There is a growing sense that our children’s future prosperity is slipping away.
It is time to prove again what a free and enterprising people are capable of doing. I know we can reverse the precipitous course America is on because we are doing it here in New Jersey today. I have been proud to stand with the Governor to motivate conservative reforms that will make our state stronger and more competitive. We need the same honest, tough-love approach in Washington.
I have formed an exploratory committee to seek out ways to help our great country which may include running for the United States Senate. As the son and grandson of immigrants who moved to this country in search of freedom and opportunity, I know and believe in the power of the American dream. And as a father with a young family, I also know we must put our country back on the path to future strength and opportunity. In the months ahead, I look forward to traveling the state to learn and discuss how we can work together to put America back on track.
Prominent Republican pollster and FoxNews analyst Adam Geller says that today’s 