Jon Bramnick’s decision to run for the State Senate seat vacated by Tom Kean Jr. means the Assembly GOP leader post is open after November, Save Jerseyans.
Not a lot of leading happened under Bramnick (R-21), an ally of Governor Murphy. At a Tuesday fundraiser, Brian Bergen (R-25), a military veteran and freshman legislator from Morris County, says he wants the job. He also decried what he colorfully described as GOP “happy captives” under the Dome who go along, get along, and have very little to show for it.
–
Republicans are unlikely to win a majority in the near term; Democrats have a 52-28 majority in the Assembly and a more narrow but no less formidable 25-14 edge in the Senate. The new leader’s job will be to turn the beleaguered GOP caucus into a force that’s relevant and can actually generate seat gains into the future.
Ned Thomson (R-30), Nancy Munoz (R-21), and John DiMaio (R-23) have all been in the leadership hunt for months but none have come close to pulling together the majority necessary to be a clear frontrunner. Bergen, meanwhile, has tried to win allies even before this week’s announcement, taking volunteers (“Bergen’s Brigade”) to battleground districts around the state for campaign deployments. It’s a strategy that could pay off for Bergen if the NJGOP manages to pick up leg seats in six weeks
Here are some excepts from Bergen’s speech:
