HALFACRE REGRETS EARLY EXIT FROM 12TH

Watching a poorly funded Tea Party-approved candidate throw a scare into an opponent this week, Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre kinda wishes he’d stayed in the GOP primary race in the Congressional 12th District, he tells PolitickerNJ.

Halfacre shut down his effort to unseat incumbent Democrat Rush Holt in late March, after he failed to gain endorsements from GOP leaders in Monmouth and Middlesex counties.

But after seeing David Corsi of Oceanport garner 46 percent of the primary vote Tuesday on just $5,000 raised versus venture capitalist Scott Sipprelle‘s $640,000 warchest Halfacre rues not staying in the contest, writes Politicker’s Max Pizarro:

Asked if he regreted not running to the finish, particulalry after seeing Corsi’s victory by 768 votes in the Monmouth County portion of the district, Halfacre said, “Absolutely. I made a mistake. No one could have predicted this election result. If we had any idea the line would have been as weak as it was, we would have stayed in.”

June 11, 2010 - 6:20 am | Comments ()

SIPPRELLE WINS; LITTLE LEADS GOOCH

It’s not quite tea time in the two congressional districts covering the Red Bank area.

In the 12th district, Tea Party-endorsed Dave Corsi failed in his bid against Princeton millionaire Scott Sipprelle for the Republican nod to take on incumbent Rush Holt.

Corsi, of Oceanport, won his home county of Monmouth by a vote of 3,345 to 2,577, but came ups short elsewhere and fell by a vote of 8,930 to 7,575, according to the Star-Ledger.

Meanwhile, the outcome of the battle between Rumson newspaper publisher Diane Gooch and Highlands Mayor Anna Little for the GOP nod to challenge incumbent Frank Pallone in the 6th district was unclear early this morning.

June 9, 2010 - 5:52 am | Comments ()

SCHARFENBERGER HOLDS OFF CHALLENGER

Tony Avallone, last-place finisher in the the Middletown GOP race, says he’ll be back.

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

The attempt by a Republican upstart to wrest a seat from a Middletown incumbent in November failed in Tuesday’s primary.

Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger defended his seat on the township committee with 1,914 votes over newcomer Tony Avallone, who came away with 1,211 votes. Scharfenberger’s Republican running mate, Kevin Settembrino, garnered the most votes, with 2,023.

That leaves a November race in which Settembrino and Scharfenberger will vie for two open seats on the committee one being Scharfenberger’s, and the other held by the committee’s only Democrat, Sean Byrnes, who is seeking re-election. Also in the race is Democrat Mary Mahoney.

June 9, 2010 - 5:07 am | Comments ()

HALFACRE RACE LOSES AIR

Mike Halfacre stops in downtown Red Bank during a bike ride in 2008. (Click to enlarge)

By DUSTIN RACIOPPI

Congressional candidate Mike Halfacre failed to capture home-county backing from his party Monday night, a hit that shows dwindling support for the Fair Haven mayor’s bid to unseat 12-district incumbent Democrat Rush Holt.

Meanwhile, local newspaper publisher Diane Gooch gained traction in her own bid for a Congressional seat.

March 30, 2010 - 12:19 pm | Comments ()

SHE’S RUNNING, NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS

What’s good for the Gooch is good for the… candidate? Two views of Diane Gooch at the Molly Pitcher Inn last night. (Click to enlarge)

Two River Times publisher Diane Gooch announced her run for Congress last night to a packed ballroom at Red Bank’s Molly Pitcher Inn.

The Rumson resident and wife of Wall Street gazillionaire Mickey Gooch promised to bring “common sense” to Washington if she’s successful in ousting sixth-district incumbent Democrat Frank Pallone.

What redbankgreen really wanted to hear the first-time GOP candidate talk about, though, was her fondness for taking photos of strangers’ heinies.

And maybe snap a dorsal shot of her ourselves.

March 19, 2010 - 7:51 am | Comments ()

REPORT: GOOCH GUNNING FOR PALLONE

Two River Times publisher Diane Gooch plans to file papers today declaring her candidacy for Congress in a district she doesn’t reside in, a plugged-in Republican reports on his blog.

The vice chair of the Monmouth County GOP plans to take on sixth-district Democrat Frank Pallone, says Art Gallagher, who got the news straight from Gooch herself.

From Gallagher’s MoreMonmouthMusings blog:

“I gave it a great deal of thought and talked to a lot of people,” Gooch said, “I wouldn’t be running unless I thought I could win. I think I can win, not because I am so great, but because Frank Pallone is so bad.”

She really said that.

March 3, 2010 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

TRT PUBLISHER WEIGHS RUN AT PALLONE

Diane Gooch, publisher of the Two River Times and wife of Wall Street gazillionaire Mickey Gooch, is thinking about challenging longtime Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone when he’s up for re-election.

The Rumson resident, who hasn’t before run for office at any level, confirmed to PolitickerNJ.com that she’s considering a run, though she sought to tamp down rumors that she and her husband are willing to put up $2 million to back her.

From the article:

This is something that we havent really figured out yet, she said. Any number would be completely wrong. I dont know what were going to spend at this point if Im going to run.

February 2, 2010 - 7:34 am | Comments ()

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