January 6, 2008 - 8:30pm
Best Bets: Grace Spencer or Jay Webber
By Wally Edge
Tags: Richard Codey, Jay Webber, Donald DiFrancesco, Thomas Kean, William Cahill, Grace Spencer, James E. McGreevey, James Florio
Six of the last eight Governors of New Jersey launched their political careers by serving in the New Jersey State Assembly: William Cahill, Thomas Kean, James Florio, Donald DiFrancesco, James E. McGreevey, and Richard Codey. With that kind of historical precedent, is it possible that one of the 25 freshmen entering the Assembly on Tuesday could wind up living at Drumthwacket someday?
Contributors
Wally Edge
Apparently, the GOP vice presidential nominee -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- has come as a huge surprise to Democrats.
How big of a surprise? Of ... >
Bob Torricelli
One hesitates to quote Shakespeare to the Editors of The Record. The thought of all that dust rising from their library shelves is enough to make me ... >
Michael Patrick Carroll
Barack Obama offers a hard-left vision for America. He would take NJ's disastrous economic policies national, and the resulting economic ... >
Debbie Holtz
Selecting the next NJN anchor will certainly be a different process than what happens at the major networks, local affiliates and other public ... >
Steve Lonegan
Tibet – the broad, high plateau between India and China – is bigger than Western Europe and the source of the great rivers of Asia: the Indus, ... >
Dr. Joseph Marbach
For the past few weeks, I've watched with fascination as politician after politician have appeared on a beach or a boardwalk and declared their ... >
Rob Tornoe
To view more cartoons by Politicker.com editorial cartoonist Rob Tornoe, click here. >
Michael P. Riccards
Some time ago, I analyzed the Catholic vote and noted in passing how some members of the Church hierarchy, in places such as St. Louis and Colorado ... >
Joey Novick
Joey Novick from Politics Unusual spent the entire week live blogging from the Convention. Here are his daily posts, exclusive to PolitickerNJ.com. >
Juan Melli
During a gubernatorial debate in 2005, then-U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine was asked if he supported lowering the drinking age to 18.
"I think it is ... >
| Politicker INTERACTIVE | |
 |
The Pindell Report Keep up with the races in your state |
 |
Lawmaker Profile Follow the funding of your representatives |
 |
270 to Win Predict the road to the White House |
Top Tags
Most Active Stories
- Biden's son brings tears to the New Jersey delegation
- The drinking age: "I think it is 18, isn't it?"
- Myers slams Adler, DCCC
- Adler and Myers set to debate
- Trivia: Most successful presidential and VP candidates had defeated incumbents during their career
- Finally, a Springsteen concert Chris Christie will skip
- Even VP slot wouldn't budge Booker from Newark, says mayor
- Shulman makes the rounds in Denver
- Congressman says Karl Rove is going to hell
- Primary hurt still lingers in Obamaland
- Dr. Bones goes to Washington
- PoliticsNJ.com Power List 2007
- DOHERTY: NEW SCIENTIFIC DATA JUSTIFIES REPEALING GLOBAL WARMING RESPONSE ACT
- Eleven arrested in bribery scandal
- Lyndhurst GOP, nearly all of them, switching parties
- Lobbyist arrested
- Governor Paralysis
- Who is the best State Party Chairman in New Jersey
- KYRILLOS, BECK, KEAN & HANDLIN VOW WORK TO KEEP SEASTREAK FERRY UP AND RUNNING
- Torricelli on COAH
Quote of the Day
August 29, 2008
"Oh, I know, there will be quite a scrum if" - he pauses and then doesn't say anything about a federal appointment - "if I get hit by a truck. A second time."
Gov. Jon Corzine, speculating on the mass of potential gubernatoial candidates eager to take his place.
--- The Jersey Journal, 8/29/08
Recent Press Releases
- Aug 30 2008
- Aug 29 2008
In the News
Read the expanded Wake Up Call, our summary of today’s news media coverage.
Today’s Must Reads:
Politicker Poaches From Politico― News from Politicker.com
Xanadu bill footnote may weigh on Corzine― CHARLES STILE
Zoffinger not one to deny beliefs, avoid controversy― 'Codey's an idiot, and you can print that'
Welcome to New Jersey, Media Wasteland― NEW YORK OBSERVER
Divorce McGreevey style ― ALFRED DOBLIN
The judge got it right ― JAMES AHEARN
Capital Games― HERB JACKSON
Teen will get chance to sue a top N.J. judge ― ROBERTO RIVERA-SOTO
Mayor refusing to apologize for anti-Semitic slur ― WOODCLIFF LAKE
Court decision likely to have far-reaching implications in N.J. ― EMINENT DOMAIN
PolitickerNJ.com Jobs
Syndicate
need to go somewhere in-between
But as Wally usually points out, almost nobody ever goes straight from the Legislature to Drumthwacket.
So the real question is where the Freshman class goes next...what's the stepping-stone? There's a limited number of places to go, especially for a guy like Baroni in Mercer or O'Toole in Essex. It will be difficult (if not impossible) to go from State Senate to Governor, so what's their next step??
Assembly to Governor
No sitting Assemblyman has ever been elected Governor, and the last time an incumbent State Senator won the governorship was in 1928. Cahill spent eleven years in Congress; Kean ran for Governor from the Assembly and lost the primary (he was a New Jersey Highway Authority Commissioner and NJN commentator before he won the '81 Governors race); Florio spent 15 years in the House; and McGreevey was the Mayor of Woodbridge, served a term in the State Senate, and ran once and lost. DiFrancesco and Codey were, of course, Senate Presidents, but they never won a statewide campaign.