Gill says she’s continuing with bid for Senate Presidency

State Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair) confirmed today that she intends to run for Senate President when the new legislature convenes tomorrow, even though State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) appears to have the support of a majority of his caucus.

“You’ll see tomorrow,” Gill said when asked how she intended to pull together a winning coalition.

Before last November’s election, Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) had already locked down  support for another term as leader of the Senate, but he lost in a major upset to State Sen.-elect Ed Durr (R-Swedesboro).

Scutari quickly emerged as Sweeney’s successor, but not without pushback from activist groups and some state senators, who decried the continuation of an all-white, all-male state leadership team.

A little under a week after the election, Gill launched her bid for the Senate Presidency with support from State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark). Gill has made few waves since then, however, and Scutari has proceeded with choosing his own legislative leadership team.