One of New Jersey’s two Republican congressmen has apparently incurred the wrath of President Donald Trump.
“Any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots to run primary campaigns against Representatives Tom Rice, John Katko, Don Bacon, Don Young, Fred Upton (challenge accepted), Andrew Garbarino, Peter Meijer (challenge accepted), David McKinley (challenge accepted), Nancy Mace, Jaime Herrera Beutler (challenge accepted) and Chris Smith?” asked Trump in a Saturday evening press release. “You will have my backing! Gonzalez, Kinzinger, and Reed already QUIT, they are out of politics, hopefully for good. Warmonger Liz Cheney (challenge accepted) is on the SKIDS with a 19% approval rating. Saving America starts by saving the GOP from RINOs, sellouts, and known losers! In the Senate, the “Disaster from Alaska,” Lisa Murkowski (challenge accepted), must go. There is “almost” nobody worse!”
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Smith (R, NJ-04) is one of the longest serving members of Congress (48th overall and 26th in the House), first entering the U.S. House of Representatives in January 1981 as a member of the Reagan Revolution. He was reelected for the 20th time in 2020 by a 22-point margin. He also voted against impeaching President Trump both times.
Notably absent from Trump’s list of Republican targets, most of whom supported the infrastructure package: Jeff Van Drew (R, NJ-02), the Garden State’s other GOP congressman who left the Democrat Party two years ago over impeachment.
Smith’s 4th Congressional District includes 34 Monmouth County towns, 7 Ocean County municipalities, and the Mercer County outposts of Hamilton Township and Robbinsville Township.
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