By Matt Rooney
Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-Cape May County) gave the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) a respectful “not interested” this week in NJ-02, Save Jerseyans.
“While I have been appreciative of the NJEA’s support, or at least neutrality, in some previous years, it has become increasingly clear that to seek your endorsement at this time would almost certainly be a fruitless endeavor given the current unfortunate realities,” the incumbent Republican explained in a letter to the notorious teachers’ union.
Van Drew secured NJEA backing as a Democrat in 2018, but the NJEA supported Democrats in 2020 and 2024 after Van Drew switched parties in late 2019. The NJEA stayed neutral in 2022.
This isn’t the first time in relatively recent memory that a major Republican candidate has decided not to play the NJEA’s game. Chris Christie famously refused to seek the NJEA’s endorsement in 2009, instead stating that he’d campaign directly for educators’ votes. Jack Ciattarelli said he’s screen for the NJEA in 2025 if they broadcast the interview online but, ultimately, the union refused so the GOP nominee opted out.
Van Drew is facing off with Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock in November.
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