Joseph Kyrillos

A bottomed-out President George W. Bush and losses in New Jersey presidential elections extending to the late 1980s invariably prompt Republicans to designate the Reagan era as a modern touchstone for their party.

The fact that he won here in back-to-back elections still sparks the GOP to pepper their fighting words with Reagan invocations, evidenced by McCain surrogates specifically targeting “Reagan Democrats” at the opening of their headquarters in Woodbridge this summer.

The Gipper remains the man among GOP, going up the top of their ticket, where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) repeatedly refers to Reagan as his hero and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hits a raise the roof crescendo every time she utters the late president’s name on the stump.

DENVER - It had to have been tough for state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) to get the news that Gov. Sarah Palin would be the running mate of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz)..

It was Kyrillos, after all, who served as the point man for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in New Jersey, and the veteran state senator had hoped McCain would select Romney for vice president.

He has to learn more about Palin.

"Those of us who got to know Mitt - and there were many of us who got to know him - are obviously disappointed," said Kyrillos. "But it’s a very personal pick for Sen. McCain, and I’m looking forward to learning more about her and supporting the ticket."

Yesterday, when veteran Republican political operative Dan Gallic announced that he was forming an organization to draft conservative activist Steve Lonegan into the Governor's race next year, he lamented the candidates Republicans typically choose for statewide races as "weak-kneed wimpy moderates who believe in nothing and are afraid to throw a punch." 

Today, Gallic said that language doesn't apply to the two other most high profile potential candidates next year: U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and biotech millionaire John Crowley.

"I was referring to the past slew of candidates who have lost by 9 or 10 points," said Gallic, who managed conservative State Sen. Joe Pennacchio's run for U.S. Senate earlier this year.  "So far what I've seen is a far better group of candidates than the Republicans have put up in quite some time, all of which have no ties to the establishment at this point."

Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth): Politicker photo 

As they find themselves once again among the general election ranks of their respective parties, two state senators in opposing camps still hope their first picks for president end up as running mates for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il).

Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), former state director for the Romney campaign, believes Romney would be McCain’s best choice for vice president. Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), meanwhile, hopes Obama picks Rice’s primary candidate, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

"Hillary needs to be a match on that ticket to keep some perspective," said Rice. "We’re talking about 18 million votes for her, plus your Obama votes. That team could really keep people coming out in a general election. I feel he needs to identify a vice president, and it should be Hillary."

If Joseph Kyrillos doesn’t get picked to run for Lt. Governor in 2009, he’s likely to retire from the State Senate in 2011, according to a Monmouth GOP leader with knowledge of Kyrillos’ plans.  The six-term State Senator is actively seeking the LG nod, hoping to run on a ticket with his friend, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin would be the front runner to succeed Kyrillos in the Senate -- though not at all automatic on the GOP side -- if the 13th district seat remains intact after redistricting.  If the seat is open, mapmakers could move State Sen. Jennifer Beck into District 13; her hometown, Red Bank, borders on the 13th.  That could boost the chances for Democrats to recapture the 12th district, where former State Sen. Ellen Karcher and former Assemblyman Michael Panter are mulling comebacks.

Speculation about who would run for lieutenant governor on a ticketGOP State Chair Tom Wilson with potential GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie amounts to a parlor room game, according to State Republican Chairman Tom Wilson.

U.S. Attorney Christie has not said publicly that he intends to challenge Gov. Jon Corzine in 2009, but the lawman who has a sterling record cracking down on public corruption remains the party’s superstar.

Gender. Geography. Ethnicity. All of these factors come into play when Republicans consider who could strongly stand with Christie as a candidate for lieutenant governor.

But ultimately, said Wilson, "If Chris is the nominee, his running mate for lieutenant governor has to be someone who shares his priorities and his sense of ethics."

Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), left, confers with Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittell after economic growth hearing. 

TRENTON - State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who served as director of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, says the former Massachusetts governor would be a good pick as Sen. John McCain's running mate.

During the Republican primary, Romney and McCain disagreed on the Bush administration's policy regarding torture. On at least one occasion, the Arizona senator upbraided Romney for what he believed was his GOP rival's naivete in not taking a firmer stand against some methods employed by U.S. military and intelligence forces.

Democrats are anxious to reclaim the 12th legislative district, where Jennifer Beck ousted Ellen Karcher in the 2007 Senate race, and where a pair of Republicans occupies the two Assembly seats. The plan isn’t as much about 2009 (the conventional wisdom is that freshmen incumbents Declan O’Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande will be tough to beat next year) as it is about 2011. Legislative districts will be redrawn after the 2010 census.

Monmouth County Republicans don’t anticipate any dustups tonight as two-year chairman Adam Puharic hands over the gavel to former Sheriff Joe Oxley.

Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), dean of the Monmouth Republicans, has known Oxley since the two were ten and eleven years old. He calls the incoming chairman a “straight arrow,” who is well-qualified to help withstand what the Democrats promise will be a tough fight for two freeholder seats.

Control of the board is at stake this year.