WHO’S UP

Steve Sweeney and Vincent Prieto

This will crumble fast, so it should be appreciated in the moment. They don’t like each other, and can barely stand being around each other, but you can almost hear Sylvester Stallone’s tearful, lumped up caveman’s voice screaming, “We can all change!” from the last scene in Rocky IV when you consider the school funding deal respectively struck by the Senate president and speaker. Sweeney was never going to get his big cuts, and Prieto was never going to get no cuts. Sweeney sought 4% cuts, so 1.5% seemed a nice compromise between 4 and zero. The speaker wanted immediate aid to help most struggling schools. That is happening. He also wanted $25 million for more preschool aid and this is happening. Sweeney can pound his chest somewhat harder arguably based on Jersey City and Hoboken (towns in Hudson, where Prieto serves as the county Democratic chair) getting less aid. The irritated NJEA gets a bit of a buzzcut, too, in those Abbott District municipalities, which equals advantage Sweeney, but both leaders deserve credit for coming to an agreement. Overall edge to Sweeney.

Shariq Ahmad

In a victory for millennials in politics, the 26-year old kid with a future broke through on Monday night, beating incumbent Edison Democratic Committee Chairman Keith Hahn 71-70 in a duel for local party control.

George Gilmore

Alert to the potential young turks movement that might mobilize behind Doug Steinhardt and wary about loss of control,  the powerful Ocean County Republican chairman could do an endzone dance when Republican gubernatorial nominee Kim Guadagno made the call to pull the plug on Steinhardt and supplant him with Mike Lavery, Gilmore’s nephew.

Phil Murphy

The Democratic nominee for governor has a bounce in his step and a twinkle in his eye, as he rides a 55-26% lead over his Republican opponent, according to the first post-primary poll submitted by Quinnipiac.

Antonio “Tony” Teixeira

Long time chief of staff to retiring state Senator Ray Lesniak this week became the new Elizabeth City Democratic Chairman, replacing At-Large Councilman Frank Cuesta.

Anthony Russomano

There were other players involved, of course, among them the powerful Indian Business Association, but the local Edison political animal could thump his chest after having played a behind-the-scenes role in getting Ahmad elected party chairman over his fierce rival Keith Hahn.

Lizette Delgado Polanco

The vice chair of the Democratic State Committee received a promotion to political director of the regional council from the Carpenters Union.

John DiMaio

The 23rd District Republican assemblyman from Hackettstown can kick back as Democrats go to war with each other now in an inter-county showdown to replace the discarded Isaac Hadzovic (see below).

Barbara Stamato

With the support of Mayor Steven Fulop, the hard-boiled no-nonsense local political leader on Monday night won the chairmanship of the Jersey City Democratic Committee.

Rebecca Symes

A veteran of Senator Kristen Gillibrand world, the general counsel of Dixon Advisory, announced she’s running for the Ward E seat that Councilwoman Candace Osborne will vacate at the end of her term.

Tom MacArthur

At a fundraiser last Sunday hosted by President Donald J. Trump at Trump’s Bedminster golf course, the 3rd District congressman raked in $800K. Democrats jumped up and down gleefully, eager to tie Trump to T-Mac and sink him as collateral damage of the red-headed albatross. But it’s still $800K.

WHO’s DOWN

Chris Christie

Slogging away with a 15% approval rating, he’s the most unpopular governor anywhere in two decades. He also left a party in shambles, as Republicans loyal to the dwindled down Guv begin to circle the thrashing Guadagno Campaign in an effort to render damage to an already capsized enterprise.

Kim Guadagno

Invocations of Barbara Buono 2013″ are flowing steadily now, a reference to the doomed statewide bid of the Democratic senator from Middlesex County who ran against Christie without the support of much of her own party. The Republican nominee’s decision to yank Steinhardt out of the state chairman’s seat rankled many in the GOP establishment, who truly like the Warren County GOP chairman. Many questioned Guadagno’s reasoning, which she based publicly on the “optics” of the party leader’s wife Trudy Steinhardt getting nominated by the governor to the parole board. It appeared artificial and politically ham-handed and shambolic, to insiders, who said if she were truly fearful of an association with Christie – who nominated Trudy Steinhardt – she’d take herself out of the running for governor. She is, after all, the sitting governor’s lieutenant governor.

Doug Steinhardt

The eminently likeable and competent attorney and party chairman from Warren County apparently showed up at Forsgate with his wife, expecting to proudly receive the backing of the State GOP when Guadagno shut down his candidacy based on a tweet about Trudy Steinhardt getting appointed to the parole board.

The NJGOP

“My brother and I used to fight all the time,” Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick (R-23) apparently told his fellow Republicans at Forsgate on Tuesday night as the place erupted in a battle over leadership. “But we grew up, and now we love each other.” It sounds great, but unfortunately for a party already severely outgunned and out-manned in New Jersey by about 800,000 registereds, the collision does not help Republicans’ statewide cause. There are people right now in the party, many of them veterans of the Jack Ciattarelli campaign, truly wounded by Guadagno’s decision to yank Steinhardt, whom they saw as a true conciliatory, party-unifying choice. Or worse, they’re ready to use any excuse to bury the party nominee.

Keith Hahn

The tough guy party chairman of Edison lost his throne by one vote to Shariq Ahmad, the chief of staff to Assemblyman Rob Karibinchak, whom Hahn backed for the Ld18 vacancy when Pat Diegnan moved up to the senate. This story may not be over – stay tuned.

Shawn Sully Thomas

The affable chairman of the Jersey City Democratic Committee rides into the sunset this week, yielding to the warpaint-wearing Stamato.

Isaac Hadzovic

The promising LD23 candidate didn’t actually reside in the 23rd District. He wanted to fight on, but party leaders prevailed on him to bow out gracefully and make way for a replacement.

Samson Steinman

On orders from Assemblyman Jim Kennedy, the troubled mayor of Rahway this week lost control of the local Democratic Committee. He didn’t even show up at the meeting to relieve him of duty.

Alex Mendez

Trying to gain traction for a citywide run for mayor next year, the At-Large Paterson Councilman’s been under in ocal media and activists amid a bad headline tear centering on his distribution of $5,000 in uniform vouchers while promoting his mayoral campaign and allegedly threatening his council colleague, Luis Velez.