Two of the Democrats running for Congress in New Jersey's 1st District say they're in the race largely because they feared no one else would take on the third, a state senator and brother of a non-elected powerbroker.
By entering the race, Frank Minor and Frank Broomell Jr. laid to rest their worries that voters would have no choice in a primary in a district near Philadelphia where there are nearly three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans.
Now, the question is whether either of them can be real competition to Donald Norcross, who locked up the endorsements of many of the area's prominent Democrats on the day the seat unexpectedly opened.
"I was concerned that there was not going to be a race, that there wasn't going to be a primary for a seat that hadn't been open for 24 years,'' said Broomell, a 27-year-old former Marine who is now working on his master's degree at Harvard.
"We're talking about running against the machine,'' said Minor, the 59-year-old mayor of Logan Township. "We don't have the resources they have, but we do have resources to the best of our ability.''
The seat had been held since 1990 by Rob Andrews, who announced Feb. 4 that he was resigning to take a job with a law firm. Norcross said he received a call from Andrews the night before the announcement to let him know.
Norcross, 55, said he made a quick decision to run.
As Andrews announced his decision, he voiced support for Norcross. That same day, other elected officials also endorsed Norcross, lauding his commitment to creating jobs.
It was an impressive show of Norcross' place in area politics - as was his fundraising of $378,000 by the end of March. His opponents have not yet reported their contributions to the Federal Election Commission, and neither have any of the four Republicans running in their party's June 3 primary.
Jay Lassiter, a Democratic political consultant in southern New Jersey who is not working on any of the 1st District campaigns, said the way the Norcross campaign launched could suggest the primary was decided before the race began.
"It might be wise for my team to be mindful of how things look,'' Lassiter said. "Unless we can make the credible argument that, yes, this is a democracy, it's going to undermine the credibility of a progressive liberal.''
Lassiter added that Norcross is "a true hardcore liberal. He's right on all the issues.''
Norcross, an electrician and labor union official who lives in Camden, is the brother of George E. Norcross III, an insurance executive, philanthropist and majority owner of the company that owns The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is seen as a towering figure in New Jersey politics even though he has no elected or appointed position in government or the Democratic Party. George Norcross has the ear of Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, on at least some issues.
Donald Norcross was elected to the state Assembly in 2009. He served there just four days before he was appointed to the state Senate to fill a vacancy left when Dana Redd resigned to become mayor of Camden.
He describes himself as "an electrician with a tie'' and understands working people and marvels that someone with his blue-collar background can be a candidate for Congress. He credits his years of building connections with people in and out of politics for the quick support he received and downplays the role of his brother in the campaign.
"George has had, obviously, a proven track record of being politically a very sharp mind,'' Donald Norcross said. "I hope he'll help me with that expertise in this race.''
Norcross said people who know him understand that he's not just carrying out his brother's ideas.
Minor, who has been mayor of Logan Township since 2004, touts his history of bringing companies to his town 10 miles north of Wilmington, Del. He says he has kept municipal property taxes stable for six years and has built a government budget surplus in the community of 6,000. Minor is also the deputy executive director of the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates a bridge and ferries between Delaware and southern New Jersey as well as five small airports.
Like Norcross, he said he would focus on creating jobs.
Minor, the floor whip for New Jersey's delegation at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, was considered as a lieutenant governor candidate by Barbara Buono when she ran for governor last year. He said he believes that more prominent area Democrats - "the machine'' as he calls them - do not always act like Democrats and have not been supportive enough of President Barack Obama's health insurance overhaul.
"It's an open seat,'' Minor said. "I am the party, I'm a Democrat.''
Broomell interned for Andrews when he was a high school student and was deployed twice to Afghanistan before he left the Marines last year. He said the three candidates may have similar views on key issues, but different backgrounds.
"It was important to have someone who was going to be willing to stand up for teachers, policeman and firefighters and the people who stand up for the community,'' he said.
