Auth enters NJ-05 House primary

OLD TAPPAN, N.J. – The GOP primary in NJ-05 may’ve just gotten turned on its head.

Assemblyman Bob Auth (R-39) has informed party leaders of his intent to seek the Republican nomination to challenge Josh Gottheimer in November. Auth’s entry into the race was first reported by New Jersey Globe.

This year’s field already includes Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, financial industry veteran Frank Pallotta, and former Cresskill Councilman John McCann.

McCann carried the GOP banner in 2018 but lost a lopsided 169,546 to 82,869 general election march-up with Gottheimer. McCann narrowly carried the district’s Passaic, Sussex, and Warren reaches but lost the Bergen County portion by a large margin. Auth’s LD39 base throws the current primary fight into uncertainty given the likelihood that he’ll draw a significant amount of support at the upcoming late March convention in Hackensack.

Auth entered the Assembly in 2014; outside of Trenton, he serves as the chief executive officer for Plaza Travel and Insurance Services Ltd.

There is no clear frontrunner in the NJ-05 primary.

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