VINELAND, N.J. — Armed with four county lines and far-and-away the biggest pot of money, Atlantic County businessman Hirsh Singh is likely the man to beat in next month’s Republican primary for the 2nd Congressional District nomination.
Opponent Sam Fiocchi (a former Assemblyman) tried to land a punch on front runner on Friday, attacking Singh over a $1,000 donation by Singh’s well-heeled father to then-Democrat gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy.
The current Fiocchi line of attack is unapologetically hyper-personal.
“Did Singh’s father have so little faith in his son that he had to hedge his bets by giving Murphy money?” said Fiocchi in a scathing press release questioning both Singh’s motives and chops to run for Congress.
Reached for comment, Singh campaign manager Michael Byrne shrugged it all off but also attempted to make a larger point about political participation.
“This is a perfect example of why it’s hard to find young, successful conservatives to run for office,” said Byrne when reached for comment by Save Jersey. “Rather than talk about how he’ll help the district, perennial candidate Sam Fiochi is more interested in false personal attacks against family members. Hirsh Singh is running to protect South Jersey values, something that’s clearly lacking with other candidates in this race.”
Attorney Seth Grossman and former FBI Agent Robert Turkavage are also competing for the NJ-02 GOP nod.
Meanwhile, a fifth candidate (Brian Fitzherbert) came to terms with his recent ejection from the primary, announcing his departure from the ticket and adding,
“I wish Robert Turkavage, Sam Fiocchi and Seth Grossman all the luck in the final month of the Republican Primary,” deliberately excluding Hirsh Singh whom he blamed for supporting the ultimately successful challenge to his petitions.”
“After many discussions and deliberations, the conclusion became that there was no viable option to secure my position on the ballot again,” Fitzherbert explained. “With that realization, I have determined that its best that I suspend my campaign for the United States House of Representatives in the 2nd District of New Jersey. The fact that legally I’m seven signatures short of being on the ballot is on me. Lesson learned.”
The district is competitive but is considered a lean-Democrat seat this cycle with presumptive Democrat nominee Jeff Van Drew opposite the eventual GOP nominee.
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