The Republican U.S. Senate primary appears to have settled down a bit — at least for now – with a decision by Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. that he won’t run statewide this year. The deadline for replacing candidates on the ballot is tomorrow, and with Kean and John Crowley saying no over the last four days, the GOP field appears to be exactly where it was two weeks ago: Goya Foods millionaire Andy Unanue, State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, and Murray Sabrin, the leader of Ron Paul’s New Jersey campaign. This has the makings of a competitive primary: Unanue has organization lines in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Hudson, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean, while Pennacchio has the lines in Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Passaic, Salem and Somerset (and the support of GOP County Chairmen in Morris and Warren, which have open primaries). Sabrin has the organization endorsement in Gloucester County.
Two big county organizations have not yet weighed in: Burlington, which had been supporting Anne Evans Estabrook, and Essex.
