Bridgewater Councilman, Michael Hsing, recently announced that he would run as an independent for the U.S. Congressional seat in the 7th District. That seat will be vacant as a result of Rep. Mike Ferguson’s decision not to run for re-election.
As a Republican who was initially in the GOP primary, but subsequently decided to pursue the seat without party affiliation, Mr. Hsing is reported to be a conservative on hot-button issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
He will be running against two big guns: Democrat Linda Stender of Union County, who is currently serving her fourth term in the New Jersey General Assembly; and Republican Leonard Lance of Hunterdon County, who was elected to the General Assembly in 1991, and who is currently serving as a New Jersey State Senator.
Stender came close to unseating Rep. Mike Ferguson two years ago. Consequently, some prognosticators have written that Mr. Hsing could draw heavily upon the district’s Chinese-American community and, should he garner enough total votes, be a spoiler to Lance’s winning the 7th District seat.
Nonetheless, I doubt that Michael Hsing is running for any purpose other than to win – he’s too smart to do otherwise. If he doesn’t make it, he gets to live for another day, although he will have some fences to mend. His hurdle is that of an untried state entity attempting to push aside two very well-known politicians who enter this contest with high name recognition.
For example, whether we liked them or not, who can forget those interminable TV ads branding her as “Stender the Spender?” Over time, things change. What once might have been considered a very negative ad may have solidified Stender’s name in the public imagination.
As for myself, I’m looking forward to a vigorous campaign by all three candidates and, especially, to see how sincere or phony their promises prove to be.
Note: The candidates’ web sites may be found at, http://www.lindastenderforcongress.com/, http://www.hsingforcongress.com/home.asp, http://www.leonardlance.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment