Jason Scheurer

The New Jersey Libertarian Party opened its campaign headquarters on the Atlantic City Boardwalk over the July 4th weekend, according to Lou Jasikoff, regional coordinator for Bob Barr for President.

Running on the New Jersey ticket with Barr - a former Georgia congressman and former Republican - is Mercer businessman Jason Scheurer, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for U.S. Senate.

Scheurer got blown out last year in his 14th District Assembly run.

"We didn’t do as well as we were hoping," admitted Jasikoff of Scheurer’s 2007 campaign. "We were hoping to do a little bit better, but we got certified. That gave us a certain amount of credibility."

Assemblyman Bill Baroni won big in the 14th district state Senate race, blowing out Democrat Seema Singh with 62% of the vote.  He won Hamilton Township with 76%.

But the politically competitive district remains split, with two Democrats capturing seats in the State Assembly.

Incumbent Linda Greenstein prevailed in her bid for a fifth term, and her running mate, labor leader Wayne DeAngelo, outpaced Baroni’s running mates, Tom Goodwin and Adam Bushman.  Greenstein received 28,172 votes; DeAngelo, 25,037; Goodwin, 24,245; and Bushman, 23,663.

Libertarian Jason Scheurer says he has aspirations to serve in the state Assembly, even though his website shows him posing grandly in front of the U.S. Capitol.

In any case, he knows his way around Trenton well enough to have tracked down the major party's candidates outside a television studio Thursday as he sought to get some explanation as to why he couldn't be included in a debate forum. According to Scheurer, a representative from the television studio told him he wasn't a viable candidate.

An the Libertarian candidate for State Assembly in the 14th district, Jason Scheurer stands in line with his party when it comes to curbing government power. On his website he promises never to “raise taxes, ever”, “accept a government pension”, or “increase the power of government over your life”. But despite his small-government rhetoric, Scheurer is looking to subsidize his campaign with up to $50,000 in state grants.

Scheurer’s 14th district, along with the 24th and 37th districts will host the Fair and Clean Elections program’s debut this fall. If certified as a Clean Elections Candidate, Scheurer would be eligible to subsidize his campaign with state funds. Doing so however puts Scheurer at odds with his party’s platform, which calls “for an end to any tax-financed subsidies to candidates or parties.”