The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) appears to have a favorite candidate in NJ-05 and it’s Steve Lonegan.
On Thursday, the group announced that Lonegan is ‘On The Radar’ for its Young Guns candidate support program
“I’m proud to have been chosen for the NRCC’s Young Guns program,” Lonegan said. “The Republican Party is unifying around my candidacy because they know my message of lower taxes, job creation, and term limits will win next November.”
The Young Guns program mandates that its identified candidates hit specific targets in pursuit of financial support from the House GOP’s campaign apparatus:
Once candidates fulfill enrollment requirements, they become eligible to advance to the first level of the program: On the Radar.
On the Radar candidates are individuals running in competitive congressional seats. They have met the minimum threshold in campaign organization and show potential to achieve greater status in the program as the cycle progresses.
NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers described this cycle’s selected candidates as “formidable competitors against the liberal agenda of Nancy Pelosi and the left.”
Lonegan is a familiar perennial candidate for New Jersey politics, serving as a Mayor for three terms in Bogota, New Jersey and having run for various other offices including governor and the NJ-03 House seat in later years. Lonegan carried the 5th district when he challenged Cory Booker for Frank Lautenberg’s U.S. Senate seat in 2013. Republicans nevertheless face a tough battle in 2018 against well-funded freshman Democrat Josh Gottheimer.
He isn’t uncontested. Former Councilman John McCann and Warren County Freeholder Jason Sarnowski are also in the hunt.
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