VINELAND, N.J. – On Friday, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt called on New Jersey Republicans to be courageous in the fight to defend legal gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
He didn’t need to tell Mike Testa, the Republicans’ state Senate nominee in this year’s special LD1 contest triggered by Jeff Van Drew’s departure for Congress.
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Testa issued a statement arguing that a vote for his incumbent Democrat opponent Bob Andrzejczak (who was selected to replace Van Drew) or his Assembly running mates is inescapably a vote for Phil Murphy and his radical anti-Second Amendment agenda.
“Any pro-2nd Amendment voter in the 1st Legislative District who supports Senator Andrzejczak and his running mates is voting against their own self-interest, and enabling the Trenton Democrats radical anti-gun agenda to continue,” said Testa. “By now, we all know the deal. Senator Andrzejczak silently casts what amount to meaningless votes in support of the Second Amendment, and in return he benefits from millions of dollars in campaign funding and manpower from radical liberal politicians and special interests in Trenton who pass laws that shred the Second Amendment in our state. Allowing that to continue sends a clear message to Trenton liberals: There are no consequences for your anti-2A actions.”
The Murphy Administration has made the pursuit of ever-more-restrictive gun laws a hallmark of its legal and legislative legacies. Everything from smart guns, ammo limits, and new fees for legal gun owners have been a part of the larger ideological push.
“It’s time South Jersey elected a true conservative and real Republican who won’t just vote the right way when their bosses tell them it’s okay, but rather will lead the fight against liberal attacks on our constitutional rights Trenton,” Testa continued. “South Jersey deserves a pro-Second Amendment voice who will fight the Trenton elites and defend our rights to legally protect ourselves. Consider how badly the Democrats have eroded our gun rights on Bob Andrzejczak’s watch, it is clear that he is not that voice.”
LD1 – which spans a significant portion of South Jersey’s bottom geographic tier, encompassing all of Cape May County, much of Cumberland County and part of Atlantic County – is considered ground zero of this cycle’s legislative seat war. It’s a rare district occupied by three Democrat legislators that not only voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but also has a modest but significant GOP registered voter advantage.
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