Joseph Kuehner

The new class of legislators isn’t even seated yet, but that won’t stop us from speculating about the Assembly election in 2009.

Granted, two years is a political eternity, and which party will hold an advantage in that time depends most heavily on who’s at the top of the ticket. But when the new Assemblymen and women take their places in Trenton early next year, there will be 25 freshmen – several from competitive districts. Those represent the best opportunity for each party to knock off some incumbents.

Right now, however, from this great distance, it doesn’t appear as though any new districts will come into the fold, or that control of either legislative body is likely to shift. Indeed, it’s more likely that 2009 will see a smaller number of districts in play.

Joseph Kuehner, the mayor of Egg Harbor City and a Democratic candidate for the Assembly in district 2, is expected to announce tomorrow that he will drop out of the race, according to sources.

There has been speculation for several weeks that Kuehner, whose father is ill, would step aside. Kuehner has been running on a ticket with state Senate candidate James Whelan and Assembly candidate Blondell Spellman, both of Atlantic City.