Senator Dobbs of New Jersey

Lou Dobbs

That’s being touted as a possible career move for United Stations Radio Networks personality and former CNN host Lou Dobbs as he ponders his next move after exiting the cable news network.

The New York Post says that even though Dobbs left the Republican Party a few years ago and now calls himself an independent, he has also called himself a “Rockefeller Republican” in the past. New Jersey political experts think the party could possibly line him up to run against Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in 2012. The fact that a Republican just won the race for governor only underscores the idea.

Dobbs, who has expressed possible interest in public office before, would of course enter such a race with high name recognition and with it, great potential as a campaign fund-raiser.

He would also, however, bring plenty of baggage with him regarding the issue of illegal immigration, in a state where NYP says there is a very large immigrant population. The fact that Menendez is Hispanic would only catapult the issue higher on the public awareness chart.

RBR-TVBR observation: Dobbs has carved out a niche on the political spectrum all his own, and as we recently noted, the label independent suits him because he does not easily fit into the general mold of either major party.

But we agree with NYP – if the New Jersey Senate seat is his target, his place is opposite Menendez in a general election, not in a primary – and that makes him either a Republican candidate or a third party candidate. It’s a lot easier to win with a major party label, so that’s where we’d expect to find him in such a race.