SOMERVILLE - GOP diehard Janet Linnus on Saturday morning at the Somerville Elks Club assumed the oath of office to serve as President of the Somerset County Federation of Republican Women.

Linnus succeeds President Cathy Callahan, who served two consecutive two-year terms. On Saturday, beside her friend Linnus, Callahan assumed the oath of office as the Federation's vice president.

Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz and Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis swore Linnus and Callahan into their new offices.

Others in attendance at the breakfast event included U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-7), state Senator Jon Bramnick (R-21), Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio (R-23), Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-23), and Bridgewater Councilman Felipe Pedroso.

The Somerset County Federation of Republican Women empowers candidates within the county, engaging and leading on issues pertaining to voter integrity, voter registration, and voter organization. They fundraise and back candidates monetarily in addition to providing boots on the ground for key GOP causes.

In this current campaign cycle, the Federation's screening committee supports the gubernatorial candidacy of Somerset County's own Jack Ciattarelli, businessman, former assemblyman, and former county commissioner. The organization has not yet issued a formal endorsement of a candidate in the Republican Primary for Governor.

A veteran operative, the organization's new President, Janet Linnus, participated in many critical contests in this county, her career as the former executive director of the Somerset GOP bookended by the exultation of helping Christie Todd Whitman become governor in 1993, the horror of watching Whitman back Democrat Joe Biden for president during the difficult first term of Donald Trump; and the intensity of getting Ciattarelli close to a statewide win in 2021.

Now, she's ready again to help a new crop of GOP candidates from her perch in this leafy Central Jersey stronghold of politics and culture - the same place that produced international diplomat Millicent Fenwick.

The campaigns and elections over the course of Linnus' 28-year career as ED of the Somerset GOP included many positive highlights, starting with Whitman, of course, and among them the 2009 statewide election, when Republicans statewide displaced Democratic Governor Jon Corzine, with the help of Somerset County.

For more about President Linnus, please go here.