TRENTON – Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-37) won’t rule out a special election run for Bergen sheriff in 43 days.

“I’m not saying no,” he told InsiderNJ this evening.

“If the party feels that’s the best direction for the party, I’d look at it,” the veteran assemblyman said.

“I know there are other options out there, but now we do know that it’s going to be an election and not a selection,” he added.

“I’ll be in touch with the county leader,” Johnson said. “I’m open to either sheriff or undersheriff.”

Despite his close ties to Governor Phil Murphy, he does have a political hobgoblin in his past, however, a party source said, namely his support for U.S. Rep. Rush Holt over Senator Cory Booker in the 2013 Democratic Primary.