Leonard Desiderio

Republicans think their best chance to pick up Democratic Assembly seats next year is in the first district, where incumbents Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam are expected to seek re-election. Democrats swept the district in 2007 when Jefferson Van Drew ousted Republican incumbent Nicholas Asselta in a hotly contested State Senate race. Milam won by 2,020 votes - one of the closest races in the state; Albano was re-elected to a second term by 5,319 votes. Without Van Drew on the ticket, the GOP is optimistic.

Voters in six New Jersey towns will elect a Mayor in Tuesday's non-partisan municipal elections. The premier race is in Evesham, a swing town of 42,275 people in Burlington County that has become increasingly competitive in recent general elections. While the race is technically non-partisan, both parties have horses in the contest.

South Jersey Republicans are already talking about how to make Nelson Albano a one-term Assemblyman, and the leading candidate to challenge Albano in 2007 is Leonard Desiderio, a Cape May County Freeholder and the Mayor of Sea Isle City. Albano ousted Republican Assemblyman Jack Gibson earlier this month. Gibson earns a place in the record books: he is the only legislator under the current State Constitution to lose the same seat twice. When Albano takes office in January, it will be the first time in state history that Cape May County Republicans have no representation in the New Jersey Legislature.

Two years ago there was considerable speculation that Republican State Senator-elect Nicholas Asselta would switch parties. Asselta strongly denied reports that he had discussed a party switch with Democratic leaders, although PoliticsNJ.com continues to stand behind our report that he did. Again there is talk of an Asselta party switch, although two sources say the more likely scenario would be for Asselta to be offered a post in the Corzine administration. With Congressman Frank LoBiondo reversing his term limits pledge, and Senate Republicans in the minority, there may not be many opportunites for Asselta to move up. Should Asselta leave the Senate, Republicans (even if Asselta were to switch before his resignation, the law gives the seat to the party that won it in the last election) would hold a Special Election Convention to replace him -- look for Cape May County Freeholder Leonard Desiderio to be the front runner for that seat -- setting up a November 2006 Special Election against Democratic Assemblyman Jefferson Van Drew, who won re-election last week by in a massive landslide. If the rumors are wrong, you have to wonder how long it will take for Asselta and Van Drew to cease their peaceful coexistance: at some point Van Drew will want to be a Senator, and he almost surely shares Asselta's goal of someday replacing the 59-year-old LoBiondo in Congress.