The math isn’t complicated but it’s also not easy. New Jersey Republicans need six seats to tie Democrats in the General Assembly. To get there, aside form holding everything they’ve currently got, the NJGOP needs to flip LD4 and then find four additional seats in some combination between five other districts: LD14, LD16, L19, LD36, and LD38.
Bergen County small businessman Barry Wilkes (R-Glen Rock) is viewed as the party’s best chance for that all-important LD38 Assembly pick up, and he’s getting a major assist for his North Jersey campaign next month from South Jersey’s best known Republican: Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-2).
The Congressman will headline an October 2nd fundraiser in Paramus (see below); tickets run from $200 for county committee member general admission up to $2,600 for a host slot.
Van Drew has been a proven party builder since bolting the Democrat camp over impeachment in late 2019. There’s also a Jersey Shore angle that’s near and dear to the Congressman’s heart and home front agenda.
Democrat incumbent Assemblyman Christopher Tully of LD38 presently serves as chairman of the Trenton Democrats’ sham committee “exploring” the impact of off shore wind despite the fact that Tully voted along with the rest of his caucus to bailout Orsted, the state’s leading would-be offshore wind developer. Van Drew has been one of the Garden State’s most vocal opponents of the offshore wind development push, and his trip to Tully’s turf is only the latest indication that the Cape May federal legislator is serious about fighting this issue wherever it takes him. That’s not to say Bergen County doesn’t have skin in the game with its ratepayers set to pay exorbitant increases to subsidize the Murphy-Biden wind farm projects.
It’s also worth nothing that LD38 (which Save Jersey categorizes as “lean Democrat” in our August race ratings) continues to attract notable NJGOP surrogates. Jack Ciattarelli recently headlined a fundraiser for Barry Wilkes as has yours truly, Save Jerseyans! And while I might not be as notable as Jeff Van Drew, I’ll tell you this much:
I wouldn’t drive two hours north on the GS Parkway for a lost cause…
