"Reagan's" Surprise

It turns out I was off the mark, a little bit regarding "Ronald Reagan's" surprise secret announcement.

Dan did not announce that the Chairman could be replaced. Rather, he says that the Chairman can be stripped of his power to award the party line because the language of Title 19 gives the power to award the line to the candidates' campaign manager, not to the county chairman.

If accurate, this information could lead to primaries this year and for years to come, should candidates choose to build the organizations and raise the money to challenge the Chairman's authority. It will also likely lead to litigation regarding the award of this years' party line, should any candidate choose to pursue this route of challenging the Chair.

I have no idea if there is any case law on this matter, or if it has ever been done elsewhere in New Jersey. Someone will probably be doing the research this week.

In all likelihood, the practical impact of this information will be nil. The organization will have a full slate for the primary and any challengers won't. Primary voters will easily be able to ascertain who the county organization supports, regardless of the slogan used.

Best of luck to all the candidates meeting with the screening committee today.