Everyone is focused on NJ-07 in 2022, Save Jerseyans, though Republicans still hope NJ-03, NJ-05, and to a lesser extent NJ-11 are still within reach if the anticipated “red wave” is large enough.
No one is talking about NJ-06… or at least they weren’t. That may be changing.
–
On Friday, Monmouth County Commissioner Sue Kiley filed with the FEC to seek the Republican nomination and challenge Frank Pallone in NJ-06. A former nurse, many Monmouth Republicans believe she could give the long-time Democrat incumbent his first real fight in awhile.
Kiley likely won’t walk to the nomination. It’s expected that Rik Mehta (who’s currently running in NJ-07, but who probably senses a tight conservative lane with the entry of Erik Peterson) is apparently ready to redeploy to the 6th District. Mehta, an attorney and pharmacist, is the all-time #1 Republican vote-getter in state history for having challenged Cory Booker in Election 2020 for U.S. Senate.
Why the renewed interest in Pallone’s seat?
Under the newly-released New Jersey House map, Phil Murphy carried the reconfigured NJ-06 by a relatively modest margin: 53% to Ciattarelli’s (7 points). The theory is that Joe Biden hasn’t gotten any more popular since November, so a well-run GOP campaign mounted in a very pro-Republican cycle ***could*** catch lightning in a bottle.
–
