Rep. Menendez Named To Corzine's New Jersey Senate Seat
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
House Energy & Commerce Committee member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) is still considering running in the primary for next year's Senatorial election.
|
New Jersey Governor-Elect Jon Corzine (D) named House Democratic Caucus Chair Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to his recently vacated Senate seat on Dec. 9. A special election could be held for Menendez's vacated seat in the 13 district, which borders Merck's Rahway research facility. House Energy & Commerce Committee member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), whose sixth district includes Johnson & Johnson's New Brunswick headquarters, had pursued the appointment, as did nearly the rest of the New Jersey Democratic congressional delegation. With the appointment of Menendez, Pallone announced that he will weigh his options regarding whether to end his campaign for the 2006 Senate election. Pallone was the only Democratic member of the New Jersey congressional delegation to vote to legalize drug importation through the "Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2003." Menendez gained a significant advantage over Pallone for next year's election though his ascension to the Senate; he has also outpaced Pallone in fundraising thus far, having raised over $4 mil. compared to Pallone's $2 mil. -John Rancourt |