U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) is backing Nick De Gregorio in the June 7th primary for New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District Republican nomination.
“NJ-05 is exactly the kind of district we can put into play this cycle to take back the House, fire Nancy Pelosi, and defeat the Biden agenda,” said Cotton, a widely-revered figure among U.S. conservatives and MAGA enthusiasts. “With Nick’s leadership, we can win this seat.”
Cotton’s Tuesday endorsement is the latest flashpoint in what’s become an unusual primary season for North Jersey Republicans.
NJ-05 is considered a potential top national pick-up opportunity for Republicans in 2022. While the district grew “bluer” in redistricting, Jack Ciattarelli lost the redrawn, Bergen-dominated district by only 1-point in his close contest with Phil Murphy last November. House Republicans believe a red wave could very well flip the seat held by ex-GOP Congressman Scott Garrett until he lost it in the 2016 presidential cycle.
Incumbent Democrat Josh Gottheimer has deep pockets; the three-term congressman and his dark money allies have taken the extraordinary step of dumping money directly into the GOP (!) primary race to bolster De Gregorio primary rival Frank Pallotta. Gottheimer’s mailer even includes a 2020 Trump endorsement of Pallotta. Trump has not yet issued a formal endorsement of any NJ-05 candidate for 2022. Save Jersey reached out to President Trump’s spokespersons concerning the mailer story but we’ve yet to receive comment.
Pallotta lost decisively to Gottheimer as the party’s 2020 nominee and has failed to raise significant money for his second bite at the apple.
This year, De Gregorio has the backing of Bergen County’s GOP (which takes in > 80% of the district’s voting pool). Pallotta is supported by the Passaic GOP organization.
Cotton and De Gregorio are both veterans of the Iraq War; the Arkansas Senator – considered a possible future presidential candidate in his own right – launched cottonforvets.com to support fellow Republican veterans seeking office.
