Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday grilled a Superior Court nominee from Middlesex County to find out whether she was truly a Republican, as she first declared last summer, or a Democrat in conservative clothing.
The hearing was rocky from the start for Andrea Carter Latimer, an assistant Middlesex County prosecutor. Republicans spent more than half an hour interrogating her on why she switched to the GOP after being an independent voter for more than 10 years.
The committee ultimately approved her appointment, 6-2, with two Republicans opposed and a third abstaining. But the hearing took its toll on Carter Latimer, who left the room visibly shaken and leaning on her family for physical support.
During the hearing, Carter La timer told lawmakers she had conversations with three Democratic legislators and the Middlesex County assignment judge about her interest in becoming a judge. But she said she decided to register with the GOP because it was aligned with her political philosophy.
"Did any of them suggest to you that it would be a good idea to fill out a registration form registering yourself as a Republican?" asked Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen).
"No," she said. "What was im parted to me was that if
I am affiliated one way or another, that I needed to make that known.
Star-Ledger