A brightly burning potential statewide candidate with money access (just not big pharma money), engineer Hirsh Singh of Linwood could get offloaded – with goodwill – to CD2 in the event that pharma exec Bob Hugin pulls the trigger on a 2018 U.S. Senate run.

The GOP is having those talks and figuring out how to gently keep Singh in the fold while giving Hugin a nice runway to a faceoff later this year with U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.

One source – all-in with Hugin – complained that Singh has signaled that “running for Congress is beneath him,” and still wants a crack at Menendez.

“He’s still making the [statewide] rounds,” the source groaned.

The South Jersey Republican newcomer ran a convincing first-time gubernatorial campaign in 2017, harvesting 24,000 votes in a third place finish behind Kim Guadagno and Jack Ciattarelli respectively.

Another source dismissed the speculation, noting the bosses that straddle different pieces of CD2, who have different perspectives and loyalties.

“There’s no one in position to cut such a deal,” said the source, as former Assemblyman Vince Polistina (R-2) remains a possible counterweight to state Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1), who’s running for the seat now occupied by the retiring U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2).