Star Ledger endorses Andrews

The Star Ledger endorsed Rep Rob Andrews in his race to unseat Senator Frank Lautenberg. It won't help. Lautenberg will win.

Back channel Democratic whispers say a deal has been struck to keep the senate seat occupied by a guy named Frank. Lautenberg will retire after the deadline for putting the seat on the ballot in next year's election, and Jon Corzine will appoint Frank Pallone. If Corzine's poll numbers improve such that his re-election chances seem more likely, Lautenberg might hang on until mid 2010. Either way, Pallone gets the seat. Monmouth and New Jersey Republicans should hope for this result.

Pallone knows he can't win a statewide election without being an incumbent. Otherwise he would have stepped up to replace Bob Torricelli against Doug Forrester in 2002. Pallone defending the seat in 2010 is the NJ Republicans best hope for winning a U.S. Senate seat for the first time in 4 decades.

This would put the 6th congressional district in play for a race between a Middlesex County Democrat vs a Monmouth County Republican, giving the Monmouth GOP a reasonable shot at winning a seat in Congress.

GO FRANK GO