The letter – or actually a hit piece – targeting Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce showed up over the weekend in the mailboxes of GOP county committee members in LD-26.

The message was blunt – don’t vote for DeCroce, who among other things, is a “RINO.”

Being called a RINO – Republican In Name Only – can be a kiss of death in a Republican primary.

Just such a primary is on tap this June among DeCroce, fellow incumbent Jay Webber and Christian Barranco. The solid-Republican district covers eastern Morris and small parts of Essex and Passaic counties.

The letter more specifically criticized DeCroce for not doing enough to promote Republicans in her hometown of Parsippany, campaigning against her legislative colleagues Webber and Sen. Joe Pennacchio and backing an increase in the state’s gasoline tax.

For the record, the gas tax increase dates back to Republican Gov. Chris Christie and was the product of a compromise with Democrats.

Back in 2018, DeCroce did endorse Antony Ghee in a CD-11 congressional primary that Webber won, but she didn’t do any visible campaigning.

The actual charges in a letter more than three months before the primary are perhaps not as interesting as some of the other details.

Most importantly, the letter was unsigned, leading DeCroce to say anyone who circulates an unsigned letter is a “coward.”

It was also a bit clumsily done.

The return address references Morris Republicans at “101 Gibraltar Drive”  in Morris Plains. The problem is that the Morris County Republican Committee is located at 51 Gibraltar Drive.

One person not amused is Laura Ali, the county’s Republican chair. She said this morning that the committee will ask the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate what could be “mail fraud,” given the fact the letter falsely suggests the Republican committee had something to do with it.

Of the other two candidates in the race, Barranco said he has absolutely nothing to do with the letter.

Webber couldn’t be immediately reached, although just last week a press release was distributed saying that he and DeCroce had “filed joint nominating petitions” to get on the primary ballot.

Whenever something a bit zany occurs in Morris County Republican politics, the name of King Penna, a colorful operative. is bound to come up.

Asked about the letter today, Penna seemed amused he was being blamed for it.

No, he said, he did not write it.