VINELAND – The 2nd Congressional District election this fall will matchDemocratic state Sen. Jeff Van Drew againstRepublican and conservative activistSeth Grossman based on unofficialprimary election totals on Tuesday night.
Final figures from The Associated Press show Van Drew with 15,654 votes or 55 percent of the total in a four-candidate race. Grossman won his race with 10,106 votes or 39 percent of the vote in a four-candidate race. Voter turnout was below 20 percent in both races.
Ned Miller, a spokesman for Van Drew, issued astatement for the campaign Tuesday night saying the “resounding victory underscores Jeff Van Drew’s broad appeal across the political spectrum and his common-sense approach to public policy.”
With a victory mathematically certain, Van Drew, 65, addressed supporters at a Sea Isle restaurant around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Associated Press declared him the winner around 9:45 p.m., but Grossman took longer to emerge as the certain victor.
Grossman, a 69-year-old Atlantic City resident, made his first public comments on Wednesday afternoon and said he was not surprised at his first-place finish.
"The reason I went into the contested primary in the first place, without party endorsem*nts, is because I was confident that the voters agreed with me that the top priority of a Republican congressman was to support President Trump and to fight for enforcement of immigration laws and to get legal immigration under control," Grossman said.
Grossman said all county party chairs, as well as his primary opponents and the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, have been in contact and have offered their assistance.
Van Drew, aresident of Dennis Townshipwhere he has a dentistry practice, attributed his win to grassroots campaigning and his track record as a South Jersey state legislator, according to a spokesman.
“I’m deeply humbled and honored to have the strong support of South Jersey residents in the Democratic primary, and I will work hard to earn support across party lines in the general election,” Van Drew said.
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Final voting figures, which still need to be certified, for Democrats are as follows: Van Drew, 15,654, or55 percent; Tanzira "Tanzie" Youngblood, 5,417, 19 percent; William "Will" Cunningham, 4,739, 17 percent; and Nate Kleinman, 2,443, 9 percent.
A total of 28,253 votes were cast in the Democratic race. Registered Democrats as of April 30 numbered 148,534.
Final figures for Republicans are as follows: Grossman, 10,106 or 39percent; Hirsh Singh, 7,906 or 30 percent; Samuel Fiocchi, 6,071 or 23 percent, and Robert Turkavage, 1,842 or 7 percent.
A total of 25,925 votes were cast in the Republican race. Registered Republicans as of April 30 numbered 132,479.
The winner of the general election on Nov. 6 will succeed longtime Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, who is retiring after 12 termsin the U.S. House of Representatives.
LoBiondo stayed neutral in the primary and was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. He hadtweeted Tuesday morning that it was a “bittersweet & surreal” day for him and promised to “work cooperatively for smooth transition” no matter who emerges as the congressman-elect on Nov. 6.
OnWednesday, LoBiondo said he remains comfortable with his decision to stay out of the race and offered his full support of the Republican ticket.
"I think everyone found their own level," LoBiondo said. "Of the four people left on the ballot, they each had a little bit different message. It was their message. It wasn’t clouded by anybody else."
Van Drew isin his first run for Congress andentered the race after LoBiondo unexpectedly decided last November not to run again.
Van Drew, who identifies as a political moderate, was the nominee of all South Jersey county Democratic organizations. He defeated a field of three challengers, all avowed liberals or Progressives who aggressively criticized Van Drew for not voting with Democrats on many issues.
In his remarks Tuesday night,as disclosed by his campaign, Van Drew addressed both what his congressional agenda will be and the importance of changing what he called "the divisive tone" in Washington.
“We must bridge the divisions in Washington and unite people to make positive change because the future of our democracy depends on finding ways around our differences,” a news release quotesVan Drew as saying. “The challenges we face as a country and right here in South Jersey are too important for politics to block progress.”
Van Drew promised attention to issues such as“equal pay” legislation, college tuition levels, accessibility to health care, and better care for veterans.
The release said that, while affirming support for commercial and recreational fishing, Van Drew reiterated "fierce opposition" to offshore drilling along the Jersey Shore. Hewas a primary sponsor of the STOP act, which prevents offshore drilling in New Jersey.
“As a state lawmaker, I have always fought for tax cuts that benefit our families and small businesses that create local jobs,” Van Drew said. “It is time for a real middle-class tax cut that benefits hard working South Jersey families.”
Grossman said he is immediately moving to set up a "professional" campaign organization, saying the low-funded and volunteer-led primary campaign is insufficient to take on the well-funded Van Drew campaign in a general election.
Grossman said he'd welcome a chance to debate Van Drew.
"Because I think the voters are entitled to know where candidates stand on the issues," Grossman said. "And we should not be judged on what we say we’re going to do, but also on what we’ve done and said in the past."
Grossman said the contested primary has made the South Jersey Republican Party stronger.
"In other districts, candidates in contested primaries spent huge amounts of money and created lasting bitterness among Republicans," Grossman said. "But here, it just did not happen. None of us spent more than modest sums of money in the primary and this was money we would have had to spend anyway to put our organizations together and establish name recognition. And none of us got nasty or personal."
Van Drew, originally from North Jersey, has scaled the political ladderwith few setbacks. He has risen from township committee member andmayor, to Cape May County freeholder, to state assemblyman, and then state senator.
Van Drew, who has based his career on being the Democrat that Republicans like, has come under sustained attack before from his party's liberal wing.
“I’ve been in politics for a little while, and nothing surprises me that people say or do,” Van Drew said last weekabout his primary race opposition. “Being that it is an open seat, you know, I did expect that other people would enter the race as well.”
Van Drew said that, for a position as important as congressman, “fresh ideas” are good but actual experience in government might be better.
“And I think having some experience, but at the same time having new and fresh ideas, is the most desired result that you want in a candidate,” Van Drew said. “And I believe that I represent that. I’ve got a track record of what I’ve done in South Jersey. Whether it was saving the Vineland Developmental Center in Cumberland County or helping get funding for the schools in Cumberland County or whether it was getting the lights off the Garden State Parkway.”
Van Drew said district residents generally have the same worries — Social Security viability, Medicare access. “Are they going to be able to have a decent economic future and make a decent living?” he said.
A gun owner, Van Drew said his rule is to rely on “common sense” in legislation.
“I’m a gun owner and I believe in the SecondAmendment,” Van Drew said. “I also believe in common sense. So, do I believe in universal background checks in every state, at every sale or gun transfer? Absolutely. I always have.”
The school shooting in Parkland, Fla., highlighted some bad law enforcement work, he said.
Asked about the president, Van Drew said he would not prejudge whether anything improper or illegal had happened. He pledged to work with the Trump administration as long as it was not “wrong for our district or wrong for our people.”
Van Drew said he, like LoBiondo, disagrees with the president about allowing oil exploration off the Jersey Shore.
“In a situation like that, I stood with Frank LoBiondo on the boardwalk in Ocean City and said, ‘No how. No way,’” he said
Regarding taking care of veterans, Van Drew said he can agree with the president.
“Name-calling and just abusing each other, and not telling the truth quite frankly sometimes, all the things that are occurring in politics today and an over-reliance on social media, all of that should not be the core of what good government or good public policy is about,” he said.
Grossman'smessage comes down to six points: Enforce immigration laws while reducing legal immigration; repeal Obamacare mandates; protect gun ownership rights; “teach what made America great" in our schools again; support for the president and the Make America Great Again platform; and “stop obstruction and fake impeachment charges” against the president.
“I believe that enforcement of immigration laws and the elimination of chain migration and the lottery are the most important political issues,” Grossman said. “I believe our current immigration laws are a recipe for national suicide. When America was great, we limited immigration to 300,000 per year and we had that system in place from 1920 to 1965. And that was when immigration in America was sustainable.”
Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, issued an endorsem*nt of Grossman.
“I look forward to working with Seth to expose Trenton insider Jeff Van Drew for his record of shady backroom deals and tax increases on New Jersey families,” Stivers said.
In Washington and around the country, in political circles, New Jersey's2nd Congressional District raceis closely watched because the general election outcome could be critical for which party controls the House next year.
Nathan L. Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections, which provides non-partisan analysis of campaigns at the federal and state levels, agrees with the common evaluation that the 2nd District is a probable pickup for Democrats with Van Drew representing the party.
“I think the 2nd District is the type of seat that Democrats need to win in order to get back to the majority,” Gonzales said on Tuesday. “I mean, it’s a seat Democrats have had their eye on for a while. But LoBiondo has made it difficult to recruit a top challenger. But now, I think the combination of the open seat, a mid-term (election) cycle that is usually poor for the president’s party, and (Jeff) Van Drew’s candidacy I think sets up Democrats well for November.
“I think Van Drew is fascinating because Democrats in Washington are ecstatic that he decided to run. In part, because he represents a part of the district, including some of the Republican parts of the district, and that’s the type of candidate they feel they need,” Gonzalez added. “But that moderate profile doesn’t fit neatly with part of the Democratic Party. He’s received criticism … for the past (favorable) rating with the NRA and the past donation from the NRA.”
LoBiondo said that any candidate for the seat needs to grasp how diverse the district is in terms of issues.
"It’s a big percentage, geographically, of the state," LoBiondo said. "The issues in the western district are different than the issues in the eastern part of the district. The issues along the coast are different than the inland issues. We have to deal with commercial fishermen, with recreational fishermen. How are we dealing with the veterans? And that’s a very, very active community.
"So, all of these things go into a mix," the congressman said. "And I think Seth is a very smart guy. He’ll look at the issues and craft a message."
Gonzales said Democrats in November need to gain 23 more seats in the House to become the majority. They probably will come close if not exceedthat number although their perceived electoral advantage has narrowed in recent months, he said.
“They need to win a handful of seats in some states,” Gonzales said. “And I think New Jersey is one of those states. To get to 23, I don’t think you can win just one in California and one in New York. They’re just not enough. Somewhere, you have to pick up a handful and I think New Jersey is the place. I feel like the bare minimum in November is gaining two seats out of New Jersey.”
Currently, Inside Elections rates New Jersey’s 2nd District and its 11th District, both open seats, as “tilt Democratic” and the 5th District as “lean Democratic.”
Inside Elections rates the 7th District as “tilt Republican” and the 3rd District as “likely Republican.”
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee declared its candidates in five New Jersey districts, including 2nd District, in “excellent positions” to win in November. The other districts are the 3rd, 4th, 7thand 11th, according to the DCCC.
“With unprecedented grassroots support and our strong and dynamic candidates, New Jersey will play a significant role in the DCCC’s effort to take back the House,” spokesman Evan Lukaske stated.
Lukaske called Grossman an "extremist" for positions on tax reform and health care legislation.
Joseph P. Smith; @jpsmith_dj; (856) 563-5252; jsmith@gannettnj.com
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