Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen shocked his political allies by announcing that he would not seek re-election for his seat in the House of Representatives in New Jersey's 11th district. Already running for the seat on the Democratic side is Navy pilot, and former prosecutor Mikie Sherrill. She has a bit of an obstacle to overcome by not actually living in the district, but that's not required by the U.S. Constitution.

The other obstacles facing Sherrill if she emerges victorious from the Democratic primary is that the district itself leans Republicans. As a matter of fact, it's been more than 30 years since a Democratic Member of the House held the seat. Frelinghuysen has won the last couple contests by nearly a two-to-one margin and the district has voted for Republican presidential nominees consistently for the past five general elections including a win for President Trump.

The top Republican candidate for the open seat is current New Jersey Assemblyman Jay Webber. I've known Jay for many years. He's a thoughtful, intelligent attorney and family man and is poised to make a strong run to keep the seat in Republican hands.

Jay joined me on Monday on the air to discuss the importance of bringing tax relief to our over-taxed state and how it's time for the Democratic majority to step up and make the loss of some of the SALT deductions irrelevant by lowering taxes on working and middle class New Jersey families.

We've reached out to Sherrill's camp several times and still crickets...

But whether she decides to respect you enough to speak to our audience on the show or not, this is going to be a race to watch in November. We'll keep you posted every step of the way!

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea.

More from New Jersey 101.5: