RANDOLPH – The campaign brochure leaves no doubt who is running for the Assembly in District 25 on the Republican ticket.

“Bucco & Bergen,” it reads with the smiling candidates, Brian Bergen and incumbent Anthony M. Bucco, pictured above the headline.

Ah, but things are not that simple. Bucco is “running” for the Assembly, but he apparently has no plans to take the seat. Instead, he is expected to be selected at an Oct. 15 GOP convention to fill the Senate seat of his late father, Anthony R. Bucco. The plan is for Bucco to win reelection to the Assembly, but then resign,the seat, thereby requiring yet another Republican convention to pick his replacement. Bucco will then join the Senate.

Democrats already are condemning this rather cynical maneuver. That’s to be expected.

But this scenario also can pose problems for the other man on the ticket, Bergen, who as a practical matter, has a running-mate in name only.

Bergen dealt with that issue at a Thursday night fundraiser at Mr. Crabby’s restaurant on Route 10. It was a rather festive affair featuring live music.

“I can only do what I can control,” said Bergen, who beat two others to win the GOP primary in June. “I’m focused. I keep my head down.” He estimates that he already has knocked on about 1,400 doors.

Property taxes, naturally, are a big issue, but Bergen said he also wants to focus on matters important to small business owners and veterans. He is both. A West Point graduate and Army veteran, Bergen owns an indoor landscaping company.

Later, Bergen told the 100 or so people in attendance that the ticket remains intact.

He said that he and Bucco are moving forward with “a full-blown, hard-pressed campaign.” Bucco was not in attendance.

But Assemblyman Michael P. Carroll, who is giving up the Assembly seat Bergen wants to fill, was there.

Carroll, typically an outspoken sort, was a bit circumspect when asked about the current state of affairs.

“I’m sure he (Bucco) did what he thought was best for the Republican party,” Carroll said.