Corrado could take or leave Addiego’s old leadership post

State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-Totowa) isn’t angling to replace State Sen. Dawn Addiego (D-Evesham) as deputy minority whip after the latter’s defection to the Democratic party, but she’ll take the role if it comes to her.

“I don’t really want to comment on it,” Corrado said when asked if she was interested in the leadership position. “Nobody’s talked to me about it, so if it happens, that’s wonderful. If not, that’s still good.”

Addiego’s defection leaves Corrado as the Senate Republican Caucus’s only woman member. Addiego was the only woman member of the caucus’s leadership, and after her departure, Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean is in a somewhat-awkward position.

Does he elevate Corrado, who at times has sided with Democrats over her own party — she was one of two Republican senators to defect and support the budget deal backed by Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin — or does he create a fully-male leadership team months after women helped Democrats flip four Republican-held House seats.

Corrado has gained some claim to fame as a result of her role as vice-chair of the Select Oversight Committee, which has held hearings into the hiring of former Schools Development Authority chief of staff Al Alvarez for the last two months, but it’s not clear whether that role wins her any points in the leadership race.

She’s not the only Republican senator eligible for the position. Should he choose to pursue it, State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon would be Corrado’s main competitor for Addiego’s old role.