Jim Whelan is reportedly forgoing a reelection bid this year, Save Jerseyans, setting the stage for an epic clash in LD2.
The former three-term A.C. Mayor’s political career extends back to the 1970s; he joined the Assembly in 2006 and won his State Senate seat just two years later.
Matt Friedman of POLITICO broke then news.
Whelan’s retirement would likely pit Chris Brown (R), a military veteran and lawyer, and Vince Mazzeo, a former councilman, the district’s two assemblymen, in a high stakes race to succeed him in one of the state’s few truly competitive legislative districts. Record amounts of cash (fueled by Democrat super pacs) poured into LD2 last time around in an effort to knock out Brown; the Republican still came out ahead of Mazzeo as ‘top vote getter’ in 2015 by the relatively thin margin of 680 votes.
Developing…
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