An Italian bakery and eatery’s decision to late-cancel a GOP event over its apparent disdain (?) for Trump signage didn’t stop the Essex County, New Jersey Republican Party from rallying and generating an exceptionally large crowd elsewhere on Wednesday night.
“Incredible turnout tonight for the Essex GOP Get Out The Vote Rally,” tweeted Essex GOP Chairman and LD40 Assemblyman Al Barlas. “Despite Calandras Italian Village cancelling our scheduled event 36 hours ago. We found a new venue and here’s the result. The energy and enthusiasm was amazing.”
Barlas told Save Jersey that they successfully moved the party to Forte Pizzeria, located approximately 1/2 a block away from Calandra’s Caldwell location.
The owner of the bakery, Anthony Calandra, reportedly decided to pull the rug out from under the GOP less than two days before the event after seeing an event flyer festooned with Trump flags which he alleged violated a company policy; that’s according to New Jersey Globe which first reported on the bakery’s unforced public relations error.
Essex County is deep blue (voting over 70% for Biden in 2020), but Calandra’s discomfort with the Republican nominee makes him unique in his niche demographic. A 2023 FDU poll discovered Trump winning nearly 60% of Italian men in the Garden State.
“We could argue about why Trump seems to do such a good job of appealing to Italian American men,” said polling director Dan Cassino. “But whether the appeal is about blue-collar jobs, or masculinity, or just a matter of style, it’s working.”
