NJ Republican field crowding to challenge Rep. Tom Malinowski

Gun News

[ad_1]

play

With political pundits predicting that Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski is facing a rough fight for reelection because New Jersey’s 7th District was redrawn to favor the GOP, the primary field to choose a challenger is growing.

banner

District 23 Assemblyman Erik Peterson, a former Hunterdon County freeholder,  declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in a YouTube video released this week.

Peterson, a Franklin resident, will be taking on Tom Kean Jr., the early heavy favorite, who has the backing of old-line Republicans in the district’s party organizations.

The Republican field also includes Phil Rizzo, who unsuccessfully ran for the GOP nomination for governor in 2021; Fredon Township Mayor John Flora, businessman John Isemann and a handful of other candidates.

They believe Malinowski, an East Amwell resident who has served two terms in the House of Representatives after defeating incumbent Leonard Lance in 2018 and Kean in 2020 by 5,000 votes, is vulnerable because more Republican communities have been pushed into the district and Democrat-leaning communities moved to districts held by other Democratic incumbents.

The Republican primary has become microcosm of the nationwide contest within the Republican Party between traditional Reagan-Bush conservatives and a rising breed of Trump Republicans. That brand of GOP thought plays well in the Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex counties parts of the district, which stretches from Linden in the southeast to the Delaware Water Gap.

READ: Is Phil Murphy going to stick around? It sounds like he may be headed to Iowa | Stile

In his announcement, Peterson, who called himself an “America first Republican,” emphasized his allegiance to the GOP.

“I will always vote like a Republican should vote,” he said, adding that he has been an “unwavering” Republican voice in the Assembly.

He boasted of his A ratings from the National Right to Life Committee and the National Rifle Association.

“I believe in the sanctity of the body and that every person has the right to say no to the government wanting to inject a vaccine or some other substance in their body,” he said.

Earlier this month, Malinowski declared his candidacy for reelection by tweeting a line from Shakespeare’s “Henry V” – “Once more unto the breach, dear friends.”

Kean, a Westfield resident who left the state Senate where he served as minority leader, declared his candidacy in July. 

Like all Central Jersey, the 7th District has become more diverse in recent years with an influx of foreign-born residents. It is also one of the wealthiest congressional districts in the United States

The district traditionally has been the heartland of New Jersey’s moderate Republicans. Kean’s father, the former governor who served two terms in the 1980s, lives in Bedminster, and Christine Todd Whitman, who served two terms as governor in the 1990s, grew up in Somerset County and lives in Hunterdon County.

But moderate Republicans like Whitman were not happy with the rightward tilt of their party during the administration of Trump, who has a  golf club is in the district. Whitman even endorsed Biden in a speech at the last Democratic National Convention.

Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com

Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

[ad_2]

Source link

Articles You May Like

Watch vs. Warning: Turn a Weather Alert Into a Household Action

30 Comments

  1. 630805 8624921 can undertake all sorts of advised excursions with assorted limousine functions. Various offer excellent courses and several can take clients for just about any ride your bike more than the investment banking location, or even for a vacation to new york. ??????? 609086

  2. 498395 570907It is onerous to search out knowledgeable individuals on this topic, however you sound like you already know what youre talking about! Thanks 652801

  3. 421898 918603Ive applied the valuable points from this page and I can certainly tell that it gives a lot of assistance with my present jobs. I would be extremely pleased to maintain obtaining back in this internet page. Thank you. 2116

  4. 448554 297635This kind of publish appears to get yourself lots of visitors. How will you acquire traffic to that? It provides a terrific exclusive twist upon issues. I guess having something traditional or perhaps substantial to give info on could be the central aspect. 54802

  5. 915865 32139Youve created various nice points there. I did specific search terms around the matter and discovered mainly individuals will believe your website 789475

  6. 224164 639896Immer etliche Firmen bentzen heutzutage Interimmanagement als innovatives und ergnzendes Gertschaft i. Spanne der Unternehmensfhrung. Denn hiermit wird Kenntnisstand leistungsfhig, bedarfsgerecht und schnell ins Unternehmen geholt. 15172

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *