Andrews’ Future

If you’re a betting person, you probably can’t resist speculating about who will really be the Democrat challenger in the 1st Congressional District this fall. 

After all, Rob Andrews indicated he would not seek to reclaim his seat if his last minute US Senate primary bid was unsuccessful.   And his wife, Camille, was reportedly only running as a temporary placeholder on the ballot until party leaders had time to select a replacement nominee.

A look now at the second day local press coverage may cause some to change the odds on Rob’s short-term non-political future.

Asked whether he would seek elected office in the future on election night, Andrews told the Gloucester County Times: "I would never rule anything out."  

In his other hometown paper, Andrews’ wanna-be successors have all but set the stage for his return.  In the Courier Post, there was this commentary:  “Noting that in his unsuccessful bid for the Senate seat Andrews still carried the 1st District by a wide margin, (Assemblyman John) Burzichelli said he had little doubt that voters there would return Andrews to another term.” 

A more strident endorsement came from his one-time mentor Speaker Joe Roberts who had this to say:  "I would urge him to reconsider...For us to lose the ability to build on his two decades of service would be an awful loss."

And lest we forget…these same newspapers once inked their pages with the names of would-be Andrews’ replacements on the mere speculation the Congressman might run to replace Jim McGreevey after the former governor announced his plans to resign.

The absence of circling political sharks reported by the local press may speak volumes about Andrews’ future.