September 4, 2008 - 8:24pm

News

Baroni won't call it vindication

By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- On Friday, State Sen. Bill Baroni flew in to Minneapolis/St. Paul, knowing that a Hurricane was bearing down on a town 1,000 miles south. And through the convention, he’s been not only the point man, but the official face of New Jersey.

Last night, Baroni, perhaps McCain’s most visible backer in New Jersey, had the cast the state’s votes for John McCain.

“This has been a nine year journey with the McCain campaign. Nine years ago I was doing advance events in Michigan and California for Sen. McCain. Nine years later I had the opportunity to stand and cast our votes for John McCain. That’s an extraordinarily humbling moment,” he said.

While most of the New Jersey Republican establishment flocked to Rudy Giuliani, Baroni stuck with McCain. But he won’t call it vindication – at least not for himself.

“You know who it vindicates? It vindicates my mom and dad, who said that loyalty matters,” he said.

So Baroni has been on the move at the convention, coordinating with national campaign staff along with Campaign Coordinator Rick Mroz. But the real work begins once his plane hits the tarmac in Newark, said Baroni.

“It’s the culmination of nine years and the start of nine weeks. Now it’s really the big push,” he said.

MATT FRIEDMAN is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.

Related topics: John McCain, Bill Baroni, Republican National Convention, RNCC

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