Senator Jon Bramnick (R-21) drafted legislation - to be filed at the next quorum - requiring members of the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly to hold at least two town hall meetings annually. Under the bill at least one town hall meeting would take place in the legislator's district.

Bramnick seeks to advance his legislation against the backdrop of political intrigue and consternation in the 7th Congressional District, where U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-7) compiled a record of public inaccessibility before going absent. The unseen Kean is now a national story in one of the most watched battleground districts in the country.

Ever visible, by contrast, Bramnick has already presided over one town hall, with another on the calendar, as politics watchers speculate about his prospects as a congressional candidate to replace Kean. A Bramnick mail piece earlier this week also drew attention and prognostication about his 2026 designs. Many see the Bramnick federal option as unlikely, however, given the state senator's routine vocal opposition to Trump.

If he were to seek the GOP nomination to supplant his old slate mate Kean, he would conceivably spend more time dodging the President's swipes than scrapping with Democratic nominee Rebecca Bennett. At the moment, no one in the GOP establishment - and even within the MAGA movement - craves a showdown with the Democrat under these conditions, as military mom Bennett looks like a strong and confident alternative to a national narcissistic meltdown.

More plausible is Bramnick - understanding the dismal GOP terrain - attempting to fortify himself in advance of next year's legislative races. He wants to run for reelection in a district where his two running mates, Nancy Munoz and Michele Matsikoudis, lost big last year. At ground zero of horrendous GOP atmospherics - between the Kean calamity and his allies going down hard, Bramnick wants to remind voters of who he is, not only with town halls, but mandatory town halls.

More later.