Conservative media commentator Mike Crispi formally announced an NJ-04 Republican primary challenge to Chris Smith on Monday, accusing the long-time incumbent who’s been in Congress since 1981 of being a “RINO sellout” in a video published to Rumble.
Crispi, a podcast host, specifically charged that Smith had “lost touch” with his district.
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“Chris Smith, one of the most liberal establishment Republicans in Washington, lost touch with New Jersey long ago as evidenced by his vote for Joe Biden’s trillion dollar Build Back Better infrastructure scam, an endless continuation of the January 6 witch-hunt, and a national COVID vaccine registry which will be used to spy on Americans and violate their privacy rights in an unprecedented, egregious manner,” said Crispi in an accompanying statement. “The time to make our stand against this tyranny is now. I am declaring my candidacy for New Jersey’s 4th District.”
Crispi’s candidacy was first confirmed by Save Jersey on New Years Eve.
An added point of interest for politicos: the Crispi campaign is helmed by legendary (or infamous, depending upon your perspective) GOP operative Roger Stone. Any candidate hoping to unseat Smith will need all of the campaign experience they can muster. Crispi did indicate he would seek the endorsement of both the Ocean and Monmouth Republican organizations; the “county line” is significant in N.J. politics particularly for candidates with no name recognition although there are some recent notable examples of off-the-line victories.
Meanwhile, the Republican House Leadership issued a joint release on Monday signaling unified support for Congressman Smith.
“Chris Smith is a bold and effective legislator for the people of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in a statement reported by The New Jersey Globe.
The NJ-04 drama started when President Trump issued a call for primary challengers to Smith (and several other Republican House members deemed insuffiently supportive of the ‘America First’ agenda) back in November. Redistricting has also confirmed the newly-constituted Fourth District as ruby red while other district (like NJ-03) less competitive for Republicans than before.
A growing pool of candidates responded accordingly. The current NJ-04 field includes Crispi, Rev. Sean Hyland, Twitter activist Tricia Flanagan, Army veteran Mike Blasi, attorney David Burg, and Councilman Daniel Francisco. Hyland and Flanagan were both previously declared for NJ-03.
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