So much for making phone calls and forming committees, Jay Webber is ready to go.

Five days after Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen gave up his reelection bid, Webber said today that he will seek the GOP nod to replace him.”

Or as Webber succinctly said in the subject line of his announcement press release, “I’m all in!” 

Webber, an assemblyman from the 26th District, is the first candidate to officially say he’s running to replace Frelinghuysen. Others expected to get in the race, including fellow legislators state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, who is from Webber’s own district, and Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco from the neighboring 25th District have spent the last few days making phone calls and/or forming “exploratory committees.”

Pennacchio seemed unfazed by Webber’s quick entry into the race. 

“I’m talking to people every day,” he said, “I’ll have my press release soon.”

Sources say Bucco is setting up a meeting with his exploratory committee, a group that includes such prominent county Republicans as Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-25th, Sheriff James Gannon and Freeholder Director  Doug Cabana, who is also Bucco’s brother-in-law.  

The primary contest for Frelinghuysen’s seat is still shaping up, but an interesting pattern already is emerging. 

It is customary for Morris County politicians to think of the 11th District as a “Morris” seat. But that is not entirely true. A majority of the district is in Morris, but redistricting after the 2010 Census moved the district east into parts of Essex and Passaic counties. This has given rise to rumors that Essex and Passaic politicians may coalesce around one candidate in hopes multiple Morris candidates will split the vote in their home county.

If that doesn’t happen – and even if it does – it’s incumbent for Morris candidates to seek support in Passaic and Essex. On that score, both Webber and Pennacchio may have an advantage over Bucco. Their 26th Legislative district includes four towns in Essex and one in Passaic, giving them familiarity with some officials in those towns.  Webber, in fact, noted in his release that he is a native of Passaic County. He grew up in Clifton. 

Webber arrived on the Morris political scene in 2003 when he ran a losing – but spirited – primary campaign against then-state Sen. Robert Martin, R-26th. He got to the Assembly four years later and has been there ever since.  

In Trenton, Webber has carved out a niche as one of the Republicans’ most ideological conservatives. He is a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, an opponent of abortion and a devoted believer that government does best when it gets out of the way and lets the free market operate. These positions are bound to help him in the primary, but may prove problematic in the general.  

All Republicans pay at least some sort of homage to Ronald Reagan, but Webber has taken it a bit further. He has commemorated Reagan’s Feb. 6 birthday by throwing the former president an annual party. This began in a Parsippany firehouse with a small number of friends. But as Webber’s status has grown, his Reagan party has morphed into a major fundraiser with hundreds of guests and prominent speakers such as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

In his release, Webber tempered his political philosophy with the belief that people sitting at “their kitchen tables” want a limited and responsible government and don’t care about “red” or “blue” solutions. 

The 11th District normally would be a “slam dunk” for any Republican, but perhaps not this year. Mikie Sherrill, the leading Democratic candidate, already has an impressive war chest and the party faithful seem more energized than they have been in years. Just witness the weekly demonstrations outside Frelinghuysen’s office in Morristown, which have been dubbed “Fridays with Frelinghuysen,” and last month’s Women’s March in Morristown.”

Webber doesn’t seem impressed.  

At the top of his release is a pledge not to give in to the “angry intimidation of the far left who seek to ‘resist’ every idea that doesn’t come from someone who doesn’t share their outlier extremism.” 

Webber’s demeanor is often gentlemanly, but he can be a tenacious campaigner.

When he challenged Martin, Webber portrayed the senator as “Mr. Potato Head.” It was a bit hard to discern exactly what that meant, although it clearly wasn’t a compliment.

With that backdrop, you’ve got to wonder what Webber may have in mind for some of his opponents this time around.