House Editor David Wasserman examines the impact of New Jersey GOP Rep. Mike Ferguson’s decision to retire. Monday’s news gave Democrats a new reason to view the Garden State as fertile ground for open House seat pickups. But this district is no Democratic picnic, and Republicans do not yet have a reason to panic.
Ratings Change:
NJ-07 OPEN (Ferguson) Lean Republican to Toss Up
It did not take long for New Jersey to emerge alongside Illinois and Ohio as a key open-seat House battleground and a major NRCC headache. On Monday, less than two weeks after 12-term South Jersey GOP Rep. Jim Saxton made public his plan to retire in 2008, four-term GOP Rep. Mike Ferguson announced his intention to follow suit several districts to the North.
Republicans were already gearing up for tough races in both districts before the incumbents called it quits, but the 64-year old Saxton had been the subject of rampant retirement rumors for much of the year. On the other hand, word of the 37-year old Ferguson’s retirement came as a surprise
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