Senate

Through the various twists and turns of the Republican U.S. Senate race, so far there has only been one constant: Joe Pennacchio.

Over the summer, when Pennacchio announced that he was considering a run for the Senate seat, businesswoman Anne Estabrook and conservative Assemblyman Mike Doherty were also exploring the possibility. Since then, Estabrook and Doherty have dropped out, leading to a number of names floated and two new candidates: Goya heir Andrew Unanue and Ramapo College finance professor Murray Sabrin.

But Unanue, who was dubbed the favorite virtually the moment he stepped into the race last week, has suffered untold damage from several revelations about his personal life, business experience and residency. Meanwhile, Sabrin’s sometimes damaging attacks have stopped targeting Pennacchio in favor of Unanue. But Pennacchio has been shoring up his support from county organizations, while the controversy surrounding his 1991 writing called The Nationalist Agenda that emerged earlier this month has become yesterday’s news.

Pharmaceutical executive John Crowley would have been a formidable candidate, and many observers say he could have easily cleared the field. But his decision not to run this morning has left Pennacchio as, arguably, the man to beat in the June primary.

“I think Pennacchio is in the best position,” said Fairleigh Dickinson University pollster and political science professor Peter Woolley.