One election begets another. Now that Anthony M  Bucco has secured a District 25 Assembly seat for Republicans, the next question is, who replaces him in the Assembly. Bucco, of course, is now in the Senate. A convention of Republican county committee members from District 25 will make that choice Nov. 21. There are two candidates so far – John Barbarula and Aura Dunn. Both ran unsuccessfully in the June primary. Other candidates may come forward as well.

Dunn made her plans public Tuesday by releasing her “letter of intent” to run. It was sent to the county GOP chairs in Morris and Somerset counties. The mostly-Morris district also includes Bernardsville in Somerset.

Letters of this type are generally pro-forma creations with little originality. Not this one.

Dunn’s letter included observations of the current landscape and the challenge facing the GOP.

“The registration gap between Democrats and Republicans continues to narrow as large sums of money from outside sources help to disproportionately finance Democratic campaigns,” she wrote. “Quite simply, gone are the days of the GOP dominance in Morris and Somerset counties.”

She also suggests that “pop culture ideas permeate the media with romantic ideas of socialism, as our young people grow into adulthood, oblivious to the horror of the failed Soviet Union and the struggles of their parents and those who went before.”

She continues, saying that nothing “roils” her more than when someone says the “demographics are changing.” Her point is that no matter what the county’s population looks like, Republicans should not forsake their core principles of smaller government, individual freedom and opposition to punitive taxes.

And she reminds readers that she represents a demographic that pundits say is moving away from the GOP – a college-educated woman living in the suburb.