Sources on both sides of the aisle confirm that one matchup has survived at least one Democratic Party map alteration over the last 24 hours: a showdown between state Sen. Sean Kean (D-11) of Wall and state Sen. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood).
On one of their submitted maps, Republicans want to eliminate state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-2) of Atlantic City by sending him up into Ocean County – territory controlled by powerful GOP Chairman George Gilmore, who also serves as a member of the redistricting commission.
Democrats initially tried to beef up Whelan by submitting a map that fused his hometown of Atlantic City into a westward-expanding district to include Vineland, but tiebreaking member Prof Alan Rosenthal of Rutgers University didn’t like that option, according to sources.
Democrats resubmitted a map that resigned Whelan to a competitive – but not Republican – district.
The majority party also continues to try to sell Rosenthal on Kean versus Singer.
