James Saxton

James Saxton parlayed a series of narrow victories and political opportunities into a successful career in New Jersey politics that spanned four decades.

Saxton was the 32-year-old Bordentown Republican Municipal Chairman in 1975 when he made his first run for the Legislature, challenging Democratic Assemblyman John Sweeney in a politically competitive district that included parts of Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and Mercer counties. Sweeney, who later became Chief Counsel to Governor James Florio and is now a Superior Court Judge,  had been elected in the 1973 Democratic landslide, ousting GOP incumbent Kenneth Wilkie.  Saxton ousted Sweeney by 3,018 votes - 24,831 to 21,813.  He had no trouble holding the seat in 1977 and 1979.

Another sign that John Adler's campaign for Congress is being taken seriously: he just spent two days in Chicago at a "boot camp" sponsored by AFSCME and the New House PAC -- only top challengers from around the country were invited.  Adler received "intense coaching on management, message, money and mobilization" for his '08 challenge to 12-term GOP Congressman Jim Saxton.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has contributed money to John Adler’s campaign for Congress in the third district – a strong indication (and no surprise) that national Democrats are backing the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman in his challenge to twelve-term Republican James Saxton.  

Of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who will take office in January, New Jersey's Frank Pallone has the second biggest warchest -- $2,412,888 cash-on-hand, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Four others are in the top 10%: Rob Andrews ($2,212,314) ranks fifth, Steven Rothman ($1,740,319) ranks tenth, Frank LoBiondo ($1,386,710) ranks eighteenth, and James Saxton ($1,231,791) ranks 26th.

The national political environment didn't seem to affect Republican Christopher Smith, who won re-election to a fourteenth term in Congress by a 66%-33% margin over labor leader Carol Gay -- about the same as his 66%-32% win over Mary Brennan in 2002.

Gay outspent Brennan and won several labor endorsements, but it was hard for her to tie Smith to the national GOP leadership -- they dumped him as Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee after the 2002 election because he was viewed as too politically independent.

Smith was the only Republican Congressman from New Jersey whose margins didn't suffer this year: Rodney Frelinghuysen dropped eleven points, from 73% in 2002 to 62% in 2006; Frank LoBiondo and James Saxton each took a seven point hit from their '02 numbers.

Interestingly (at least for extreme junkies), the bare-bones campaign of Joseph Sinagra against Congressman Rush Holt in the 12th district received 35% of the vote -- just 2% less than former Secretary of State Buster Soaries won four years ago after spending $1 million and in a better year for Republicans.

If Democrats are successful in winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, it could prompt some veteran -- and aging -- Republican Congressmen to retire in 2008. It isn't always easy for a Congressman to adjust to live in the minority after they have grown accustomed to the benefits of majority life.

In New Jersey, one possible retirement would be James Saxton, who is favored to win re-election to a twelfth term this year. Saxton is now the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and the Chairman of the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. After the 2002 election, Saxton was in line to become Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, but the leadership deemed him not conservative enough and he was passed over for the job. Saxton will be 65-years-old in 2008 -- still young enough to trade 24 years of Washington connections for a lucrative government relations position.

If Saxton were to retire -- and there have been absolutely no indications that he will -- look for a spirited contest for an open seat in the traditionally Republican third district. The most likely Republican candidate would be State Senator Diane Allen, but the Democrats could have a primary between State Senator John Adler and state Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, who was the Mayor of Cherry Hill when she challenged Saxton in 2000.

if Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore wants someone from Ocean County to fill his seat, one possible candidate is former Mets/Yankees pitcher Al Leiter. The 40-year-old Toms River native, a self-described C-Span addict, has dabbled in GOP politics in recent years, campaigning for Douglas Forrester for the U.S. Senate in 2002, George W. Bush in 2004, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2005. If Ocean County Republicans want a candidate that can take the nomination from Allen, the more conservative Leiter could be an interesting contender.

Saxton won the seat in 1984, following the death of seven-term incumbent Edwin Forsythe, by narrowly winning a three-way primary. Ocean County backed County Clerk Dean Haines, who finished second, ahead of Assemblyman John Rocco of Camden County.

If Democrats are successful in winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, it could prompt some veteran -- and aging -- Republican Congressmen to retire in 2008. It isn't always easy for a Congressman to adjust to live in the minority after they have grown accustomed to the benefits of majority life.

In New Jersey, one possible retirement would be James Saxton, who is favored to win re-election to a twelfth term this year. Saxton is now the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and the Chairman of the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. After the 2002 election, Saxton was in line to become Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, but the leadership deemed him not conservative enough and he was passed over for the job. Saxton will be 65-years-old in 2008 -- still young enough to trade 24 years of Washington connections for a lucrative government relations position.

If Saxton were to retire -- and there have been absolutely no indications that he will -- look for a spirited contest for an open seat in the traditionally Republican third district. The most likely Republican candidate would be State Senator Diane Allen, but the Democrats could have a primary between State Senator John Adler and state Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, who was the Mayor of Cherry Hill when she challenged Saxton in 2000.

Richard Sexton, the Democratic candidate for Congress against eleven-term Republican Congressman James Saxton in the third district, is "looking to hire a campaign manager," according to an employment ad he has placed online. Sexton, who has $57,397 cash-on-hand, says he is willing to pay a monthly salary of $6,000.

The most powerful member of the New Jersey Republican congressional delegation today is 12-term Congressman James Saxton, who was the one of New Jersey's six GOP Congressmen to publicly support the winner in the race for House Majority Leader, John Boehner. Saxton, who was passed over for a full committee chairmanship despite his seniority, suddenly increases his insider clout exponentially. Four of his colleagues were openly supportive of Boehner's opponent, Roy Blunt, who remains the House Majority Whip.

Three New Jersey GOP Congressmen have taken sides in the race to succeed Tom DeLay as House Majority Leader, according to a list compiled by Hotline. Rodney Frelinghuysen and Michael Ferguson are backing Roy Blunt, the current Majority Whip who has been acting as leader since DeLay's indictment last year. James Saxton is supporting John Boehner, a former House GOP Conference Leader from Ohio. Republicans expect Christopher Smith to back Boehner; Blunt was part of the leadership team that ousted him as Veterans Committee Chairman last year.