Assume, just for a moment, that GOP State Senators Nicholas Asselta and James "Sonny" McCullough win re-election in November, and that Republican Jennifer Beck defeats incumbent Ellen Karcher in the 12th district Senate race. Under that scenario, Democrats hold on to control of the Senate, 21-19.
But consider this: Bergen County's 38th district leans Democratic, and the GOP hasn't won there in six years. But Democratic State Senator Joseph Coniglio appears to have some genuine ethics problems, and if things continue to get worse for him — and if Stephen Borg decides to take a page from Skip Hidlay's '03 playbook — this is the type of district where voters could still be convinced to vote Republican. And if Republican Robert Colletti wins, the Senate would be evenly split — 20/20 — for the next four years. That would mean a return to the Co-Senate President system that New Jersey experienced in 2002 and 2003, when Richard Codey and John Bennett shared power in the upper house.