Yes, Jersey can now make Trump very unhappy in November House races

[riversedge]

Now to get our the vote!!

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/06/house_democratic_road_to_majority_passes_through_j.html




Yes, Jersey can now make Trump very unhappy in November House races
Updated 8:03 AM; Posted 6:55 AM


If House Democrats win a majority in President Donald Trump's midterm test this fall, it will be because they were able to turn key New Jersey districts from red to blue.

And Tuesday's primary results gave Jersey Democrats more hope that they can make the Republican president very unhappy.

At least four of the five GOP-held districts are considered competitive, and political observers say the Democrats can't take over the House without help from the Garden State in a midterm election seen as a referendum on Trump.

"Whether Trump continues to control Congress is up to the voters in New Jersey's suburbs," said Jesse Ferguson, a former top Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee official.



National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Chris Martin disagreed.

"Republican leadership has fueled a supercharged American economy and delivered results for New Jersey families," Martin said. "We're confident voters will support our strong challengers and incumbents across the state to continue that historic progress."

The districts most likely to flip are the two being vacated by retiring Republicans, the 2nd District in South Jersey and the 11th District in North Jersey. Reps. Frank LoBiondo and Rodney Frelinghuysen both decided to call it quits after 24 years apiece in Washington..........................................

Link to tweet

well, so be it:

Link to tweet

[riversedge]

1. "Democrats probably need to pick up at least two seats in New Jersey to win back the House," said Da

....."We've seen a great deal of energy that I don't think was apparent years ago," Sherrill said. "A lot of us thought that by taking non-traditional jobs, we were advancing the cause, that our children were going to have a better work place than we were."

The election of Trump "showed us that that was not the case," she said. "A lot of us felt it was necessary to take a seat at the table."

At least two other races are on the Democratic radar screen. The Cook Political Report gives Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th Dist., no more than a 50-50 chance against former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Tom Malinowski.

And Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-3rd Dist., is rated a slight favorite over Andy Kim, a former national security aide.

"Democrats probably need to pick up at least two seats in New Jersey to win back the House," said David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for Cook, a Washington-based publication that tracks congressional contests. "Three would put them well on track."

[riversedge]

5. The Dem Party helped Jeff Van Drew win in a NJ congressional primary against the wishes of local act

NurseMom Retweeted
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2h2 hours ago

The Democratic Party helped Jeff Van Drew win in a New Jersey congressional primary against the wishes of local activists.

Link to tweet

POLITICS 06/06/2018 12:19 am ET Updated 9 hours ago
Conservative Democrat Wins Primary In New Jersey House Seat
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew’s positions on guns and other social issues rankled activists.



State Sen. Jeff Van Drew easily won the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday, pleasing Democratic officials who backed him and disappointing progressive activists wary of his voting record.

Van Drew, who has represented the southernmost tip of New Jersey in the state Legislature for the past 16 years, is no ordinary moderate.

The 64-year-old dentist has taken positions on a range of social and economic issues that are far outside the Democratic mainstream. He has voted against basic gun control measures, legalizing same-sex marriage and increasing the state’s minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25.

He has also backed legislation withdrawing New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and a state constitutional amendment requiring parental notification for abortions.

But when veteran Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo announced his plans to retire, national and state Democratic officials encouraged Van Drew to jump in, reasoning that he would have the least trouble of any Democrat with the district’s Republican-leaning voters.

That was not a bad bet, according to Brigid Harrison, a New Jersey politics expert at Montclair State University.

“Van Drew’s victory is indicative of the importance of political parties in New Jersey, and this is a clear win, not just for Sen. Van Drew, but for Democrats in the district because it makes it quite likely they will take this congressional seat from the Republicans,” Harrison said.

But some of the district’s Democrats might be less motivated to turn out for Van Drew in light of his conservative voting record and the state and national parties’ decision to back him in lieu of more progressive contenders.

Alison Arne, a preschool teacher and co-chair of the Atlantic County chapter of the progressive group Action Together New Jersey, is one of them. Arne, who will vote third party or leave the top of the ballot blank, said she does not want to continue to “enable” what she considers the Democratic Party’s unduly cautious, donor-centered political approach when it has repeatedly failed to yield results for struggling residents of her working-class district..........................................................................................................................


But Arne does not see that as a given. Grossman’s unexpected primary win is more evidence to her that Democratic leaders have misread the political tea leaves. Democratic and Republican voters both want political outsiders, she maintained.

“I feel like it’s 2016 again, when they weren’t listening,” said Arne, who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary and Hillary Clinton in the general election. “There have been a lot of people who have gotten engaged this year, and what they wanted is not what Van Drew has offered.”.................................................

[NewJeffCT]

2. wow, Frank LoBiondo

I remember my ex-wife railing against him 20+ years ago (she's originally from southern NJ) - and he's held on to that seat all this time.

good luck in flipping it blue.

[Cha]

3. K&R!

Thanks, rivers!

[JustAnotherGen]

4. The 7th is definitely in play too

Our Registration and GOTV vote was strong and will BE Strong. we had 5 thousand more voters than Republicans did last night. We can easily pick of Lindsay Brown's supporters from Lance - and no freaking way Indies are voting for Trump's Boy Leonard Lance in this election.


ETA - we have extremely strong Free Holder and Local Candidates. No 'slot' on the ballot has been left unfilled in our district. It was deliberate.