Pennacchio retirement signals big shift in Morris County GOP politics
Morris County Republicans, already bracing for change on the county and local level after a "Blue Wave" midterm election, are facing another seismic shift in the political landscape, this time from within their own party. State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, the conservative Republican firebrand who has represented much of Morris County in District 26 since 2001, announced his retirement on Nov. 10, effective at the end of his current term in January 2028. His statement set off a flurry of campaign announcements from other Morris Republicans seeking his Senate seat and other higher offices. “I have entered the seventh decade of my life, and I have been doing this for a long time," Pennacchio told the Daily Record. “After much thought and reflection, I have come to the decision that my service in elected office should draw to an end with the completion of my current term.” Soon after Pennacchio made his announcement, longtime Republican District 26 Assemblyman Jay Webber made his own declaration that he would run for Pennacchio's Senate seat in the 2027 election, when all 40 Senate and 80 Assembly seats are on the ballot. Webber, who has served in the Assembly since 2008, ran for Congress in
