[Photo credit: Alex Wilkes]
When Ronna McDaniel rallied for Jack Ciattarelli in Burlington County last year, the assembled Republican faithful were hopeful but nevertheless cognizant of an uphill battle.
Saturday’s Belvidere rally had a different feel: polls are once again pointing towards a red wave (of varying magnitudes), and the RNC Chairwoman’s mid-October reappearance – at a time when there is no shortage of places for her to go – clearly signals RNC optimism in a Kean victory.
“Our country is really, really hurting,” said McDaniel. “I feel it as a mom of a 17-year-old. I see it in our neighborhoods. I see our gas prices high. I talk to people who say, ‘I’m making a decision right now whether I can pay for gas or pay for groceries.’ People are hurting. And the Democrats and Tom Malinowski, they have turned their back on the suffering of the people of New Jersey. And Tom Kean will not.”
“You know how you stop the pain? Elect Tom Kean,” McDaniel added.
Republicans only need a five seat pick up to take away Nancy Pelosi’s gavel; Malinowski’s NJ-07 seat is considered among the most likely to flip across all 50 states. National Republican groups have invested over $2 million in buoying the efforts of Kean, the former GOP State Senate leader and son of the former governor.
“What I hear when I knock on those doors is people are making tough decisions in their life. Their household expenses are $800 higher than they were a few short months ago,” said Kean. “They’re making decisions between paying for food, paying for gas, paying for heat, paying for their prescriptions. Those are the things that they’re concerned about right now. And that is happening because Tom Malinowski follows Nancy Pelosi’s lead 100% of the time.”
Belvidere itself was drawn into the new NJ-07 in a redistricting process that resulted in a redder district. Ciattarelli won the newly-configured NJ-07 by a double-digit margin, but Joe Biden narrowly carried it the year before. Consequently, most in the room seemed determined to prevent their optimism from mutating into complacency.
Kean feel a mere 4,000 votes short of beating Malinowski in 2020.
“You guys, it’s five seats! Five seats to retire Nancy Pelosi,” McDaniel continued. “[Tom Kean Jr.] is one step closer to taking back the House and restoring sanity in our country.”
