Posted on 08/31/2007 6:46:29 PM PDT by Coleus
Assemblyman Joseph Pennacchio may be waging two campaigns this fall: one to win a seat in the state Senate, the other to raise money to run against U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg in 2008. Pennacchio, a Republican from Montville, said Thursday he is "leaning toward" making a run at Lautenberg, the 83-year-old Democrat. The Montville dentist, who represents the 26th District, which covers parts of Passaic and Morris counties, says he'll decide by the end of the summer whether to form an exploratory committee that would raise funds for such a campaign.
"I'm making phone calls and visiting with party leaders around the state," Pennacchio said. Pennacchio is among the early-bird Republicans thinking about a run against Lautenberg. Anne Evans Estabrook of Summit is the only Republican to form an exploratory committee so far; she's a businesswoman who has never sought political office.
Pennacchio, a two-term assemblyman, is opposing Democrat Wasim Khan, a medical research scientist from Parsippany, for the state Senate seat. Both are 52. The seat is currently held by Republican Bob Martin, who is retiring. Khan said it would be an "insult" to district voters for Pennacchio to be eyeing a seat in Washington while he was running for the state Legislature.
"We have issues at home that are very important to our citizens, such as health care," Khan said. "He's not showing himself to be a very sincere candidate. It begs the question: Which campaign is he interested in? I think this is insulting to voters." Pennacchio said it's possible to do both because he wouldn't be doing any of the work of the exploratory committee, which is primarily responsible for lining up donors and laying the groundwork for the campaign. That would give him plenty of time to run against Khan, who is considered a long shot in the heavily Republican 26th District.
Lautenberg has already raised $2.9 million for his reelection bid. Pennacchio said he has no choice but to start early to go up against that kind of money. The Democrats have held both of New Jersey's seats in the U.S. Senate for 23 years. But with a presidential election in 2008, Republicans are hoping that a strong showing at the top of the ticket would help the lesser-known Pennacchio.
Pennacchio fashions himself a conservative, which goes over well in Morris County, where the GOP has long been dominant. He has long been a critic of the state's funding formula for public schools, opposes abortion and most recently came out against a free needle-exchange program for drug users. One of his prime backers is John Sette, the chairman of the Republican Party in Morris County. He says Pennacchio's style appeals to so-called "Reagan Democrats" -- the crossover voters who were one of the building blocks of the conservative revolution that began in 1980. Sette dreams of a ticket with Rudy Giuliani at the top and Pennacchio right underneath. "If Rudy Giuliani runs for president and Joe Pennacchio runs for Senate, we win," Sette said.
I heard McGreevy may seek Lautenberg’s seat.
If he loses for state Senate, he ceases to be feasible. The current race is of far more importance than most state legislative races.
New Jersey is home turf for Rudy ‘cause of 9/11.
I heard McGreevy may seek Lautenberg’s seat.
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A fairy tale with a happy ending. The Republican gets elected. Or maybe not. In NJ, the open-borders, pro- choice, wild-spending RINO gets elected.
Mrs VS
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Great. It won’t be long before themedia gets to calling him Pinnochio.
Not only that, thousands commute and work in NYC, including many in the media, because of what Rudy did with the city, more jobs opened up and it became a nice place to work.
Senator Lautenberg looks a lot like actor Leslie Nelson. Each time I happen to see Senator Lautenberg on T.V., the Police Squad theme music starts going off in my head! LOL
Right, and that makes him a good mayor. Most people don’t know the difference between Mayoral Credentials and Presidential Credentials. Though I’d vote for Him over Hillary any day, they may have the same Social Policies, but at least with Rudy there is a chance I can keep my tax cut.
I think Lautenberg is a little old for McGreevy.
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