Strippers and a ‘leprechaun’ on a tricycle: New Jersey’s Republican state Senate primary takes a strange turn

If New Jersey Republicans are going to take control of the Legislature for the first time in more than 20 years, they’ll likely need to win the long Democratic-controlled District 4 in South Jersey, where state Sen. Fred Madden is retiring from the seat he’s held since 2004.

But first, they’ll need to get through an increasingly-nasty Republican primary — one that has devolved into attacks on a candidate’s family ties to a defunct company that rented strippers and novelty acts for bachelor parties, including some that make the 2009 film “The Hangover” seem like an ABC Afterschool Special.

“Is your soon to be father-in-law going to be at your bachelor party so you need a mild and fun event with more class?” reads an advertisement for the former company, which then describes the option for more “hardcore” shows as well as novelty acts, like when a small person “dressed as a Leprechaun rides in on a tricycle!”