Congress

One party has a New Jersey recruitment bonanza. The other… not so much.

Published

10 months ago

August 24, 2025

As Republicans look to flip House seats through redistricting in Texas and other red states, they have a pickup opportunity in what was once deep blue North Jersey, without having to redraw any lines.

In the state’s heavily Hispanic 9th Congressional District, the Democrat who was widely thought to be a shoo-in won by just five points last year, and President Donald Trump narrowly won the district after losing it the last two cycles. Yet, even amid talk of New Jersey becoming a purple state, just two Republican candidates have stepped forward to run in the district.

By contrast, in the one Republican-held seat Democrats have a realistic opportunity to pick up, in Central Jersey’s 7th District, Democrats are practically falling over each other to challenge two-term Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. Nine Democratic candidates — including several with a proven ability to raise funds and made-for-campaign bios like former Navy Black Hawk pilot, physician and climate scientist — have declared their candidacies with nearly a year to go before the primary.

“Democrats in New Jersey feel like the stakes are existential — literally existential — in these midterm elections,” said Hunterdon County Democratic Chair Tom Malinowski, a former 7th District representative whom Kean ousted in 2022. “I’m not sure Republicans feel quite as strongly.”

Trump’s remarkably narrow six-point loss in New Jersey last year was widely seen as a sign one of the bluest states in the nation was turning purple. And there are other indicators that Democratic dominance is fading in the state. Since the 2020 election, Republicans have shaved Democrats’ statewide voter registration advantage from more than 1 million to 864,825. And in the 2021 election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli — yet again the GOP nominee for governor this year — came within just three points of ousting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

But presidential elections turn out more lower-propensity voters than midterms. And wealthier suburban districts like the 7th have had higher turnout than the more working-class 9th. Candidate recruitment and fundraising are some of the few tangible measures of where the political winds are blowing. And in New Jersey’s 2026 House races, Democrats are so far dominating on both fronts.

“Republicans are calling the 9th a swing district. They’re talking about a potential investment,” said Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. “But I think they understand they’re not going to get the turnout they’re looking for in a midterm. I think it’s a different kind of priority than the 7th District, where turnout is not going to be as dependent on the presidential race.”

The heavy interest from Democrats seeking to oust Kean is reminiscent of the blue wave 2018 midterms, when Democrats flipped four New Jersey Republican-held House seats. Back then, seven Democrats lined up to run for the 7th District seat — and that was when the district boundaries made it slightly easier for Democrats to win it.

Even in South Jersey’s 2nd District, where Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew won reelection last year by 17 points, three Democrats have filed to run in 2026 — more than Republicans in the 9th District. The same goes for North Jersey’s 11th District, where three Democrats have already filed with the FEC to replace Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor, in case she wins the governorship this November and vacates the seat.

In the 9th District, Republican Billy Prempeh is running again in his fourth straight campaign for the seat since 2020, and just one other Republican has so far come forward: Rosemary Pino, a councilmember in Clifton. No one else has even teased a candidacy yet to take on Democratic freshman Rep. Nellie Pou, though Republicans are optimistic other candidates will emerge.

While national Republicans Blue Light News spoke to had yet to commit to any candidates, Prempeh — who narrowly lost in 2024 — believes he can be their man.“I feel supported by the Republican Party. I think they see the same things that I see: This district is very winnable. I think I’m making the right choice,” he said in a phone interview.

But Prempeh, never a strong fundraiser, has barely raised anything for his next race. His last campaign finance report, filed mid-July, showed a balance of negative $634.

“We ran that race with under $50,000, while my opponent spent close to $500,000 against me,” Prempeh said. “I’m very good at running a race, even with small resources.”

Pino, as a Hispanic woman, could be a demographic ideal for a Republican candidate in the district. But she’s already demonstrated vulnerability. Shortly after she declared her candidacy, Prempeh pointed out that a group she led last year endorsed Pou against him.

Passaic County GOP Chair Peter Murphy, whose county makes up much of the district, said that it’s a tempting target for Republicans and that he sees more candidates emerging, including from next door in Bergen County. “I really do believe more Republicans are going to be coming out of the 9th district. I think you’re going to see a lot more coming. By the primary I could see four or five,” he said.

Meanwhile, Republicans are pointing to Central Jersey’s 7th District race as a potential mess, while noting Pou in the 9th District could face her own primary challenge.

Many of the Democratic candidates in the 7th live just outside the district, including Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy Blackhawk pilot and the first to declare. So far, she has captured the most attention from national Democrats. But several rivals have already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, and Republicans warn that in such a large primary, the candidates will work to drag the field to the left, hurting the eventual nominee’s chances in the general election.

Bennett said she felt called to run. “I can’t explain it any other way that a switch flipped in my brain, and I told my husband, ‘I have to run for office now,’” she said. “I really love this country. I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution.”

Republicans see Pou as a potentially weak incumbent, never having had competitive general elections during her time in the state Legislature and already facing buzz about potential primary challengers, including from the mayor of Paterson, by far the largest city in the district.

Kean, by contrast, is a two-term incumbent with a family name that goes back generations in New Jersey. His father, Tom Kean Sr., is the state’s most popular former governor.

“Whoever prevails will be wearing the progressive crown, completely broke and too battered to even compete against Rep. Tom Kean Jr.,” said Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Harrison Neely, a campaign consultant for Kean, said the field is “a clear signal of Democrat party chaos and disarray. They can’t unite behind a candidate because they have no organization, no vision and nothing to offer.”

In addition to Bennett, the 7th District field includes: Tina Shah, a medical doctor; Michael Roth, a former top official at the Small Business Administration; businessman Brian Varela; former Summit councilmember Greg Vartan; criminal justice professor Beth Adubato; attorney Valentina Mendoza; and little-known Michael Garth. Megan O’Rourke, a former Biden administration climate scientist, became the latest to declare her candidacy this month.

Democrats see echoes of the 2018 Democratic wave, when seven candidates filed to run in the district’s primary. Eventually, the field narrowed down to three, and the nominee — Malinowski — ousted Leonard Lance that November after 10 years in Congress.

Recent polling shows Trump is unpopular in New Jersey — between 11 points and 18 points under water, according to two recent polls. Still, that’s more popular than he was at this point in 2018.

The 7th and 9th Districts both encapsulate a shift in the Democratic and Republican coalitions. The wealthier, suburban and whiter 7th has many traditional Republican voters who began shifting left after Trump’s first election. That’s in contrast to the more working-class, Hispanic-plurality 9th, which has recently moved towards Republicans.

But so far, the signs point to a tough time flipping the 9th District in a midterm, said Rasmussen, the Rebovich Institute director.

“Republicans realize that their success in the 9th depends on presidential-level turnout that they’re not going to get in 2026,” he said. “They could get it again in 2028, although presumably Trump isn’t going to be on the ballot.”

Congress

Congressional Black Caucus blasts Slotkin over her calls for new leadership in the House

Published

3 hours ago

June 27, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Congressional Black Caucus is emphatically declaring its support for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — and denouncing Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s call for new leadership in Congress.

In a statement posted to social media on Friday, the entirely Democratic CBC declared that it stands united behind the nation’s first Black minority leader of the House. The caucus accused the Michigan senator of “posturing for higher office in 2028” and called attention to her votes to approve multiple members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

“House Democrats don’t need a lesson on reading the political moment from someone who handed Donald Trump one of the most corrupt Cabinets in American history,” the CBC said. “Voting to confirm Kristi Noem, Pam Bondi, and five other Trump Cabinet secretaries is not the posture of someone who understood the moment’ after 2024.”

The CBC closed its defense of Jeffries with a sharp parting shot of remaining focused on providing for Americans rather than “engaging in distractions that only serve to divide Democrats at a moment when unity and resolve are essential.”

A spokesperson for Slotkin, who has repeatedly called for a new generation of leadership in Congress, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress

Key Democrats urge House to reject kids’ safety proposal

Published

6 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Commerce Committee’s top Democrat Maria Cantwell (Wash.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) warned House lawmakers against advancing their chamber’s version of the Kids Online Safety Act, arguing it would face intense lobbying from tech companies in the Senate and risk unraveling years of bipartisan work.

“If it is passed by the House it will come to the Senate,” Blumenthal, the bill’s Senate cosponsor, told reporters at a Friday press briefing. The Connecticut Democrat said he is concerned senators will be influenced by the tech industry’s “armies of lawyers and lobbyists” who may “confuse and exploit” misunderstandings about a House bill with the same name as a Senate version but excludes key provisions, such as the “duty of care.” (This concept requires online companies to design social media platforms with an eye for children’s safety.)

“We’re not going to let bad legislation with a good title just get across and think somebody’s done something,” Cantwell said.

The House version of KOSA — which is included in the KIDS Act, a revised bipartisan package that the Energy and Commerce Committee advanced along party lines in March — is scheduled to be considered on the House floor next week under suspension of the rules.

“We need to stop this bill in the House, and we need to prevent the White House from forming an alliance with Big Tech on this issue,” said Blumenthal, who characterized the version of KOSA that House leadership is pushing as a “sham.”

Both Democratic lawmakers also expressed concern that Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) could adopt the House version of KOSA in a kids’ safety package he has yet to publicly release but has pledged to markup by August recess. Cruz said “negotiations are ongoing” earlier this week when asked by Blue Light News whether he would be open to incorporating such changes put forward in the House.

Cruz’s package is expected to include KOSA as well legislation barring companies from using minors’ personal data for targeted advertising, banning kids under age 13 from social media, and providing greater oversight for how children interact with AI chatbots.

Although Blumenthal remains hopeful that Cruz will “stay true to his first vote in favor of KOSA,” which overwhelmingly passed in the Senate last Congress, the Connecticut Democrat said Friday he’s worried Cruz and others may be tempted to “take the bait” and abandon the bill’s basic principles.

Congress

Moderates beware: Mamdani coalition portends a dramatically different Democratic Party in NYC

Published

10 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — A coalition powered by Mayor Zohran Mamdani expanded the left’s reach Tuesday, winning younger voters across racial and ethnic lines and once again upending conventional wisdom about elections in New York City.

A series of hotly contested congressional and state elections pit a slate of Mamdani-backed democratic socialists and progressives against establishment candidates who, in several cases, differed little on policy aside from U.S.-Israel relations.

The results were staggering.

Midterm election cycles in deep-blue New York City tend to be sleepy affairs. Both this year and in 2022, just over 500,000 people cast ballots, less than 20 percent of eligible voters. But turnout within a congressional district spanning Upper Manhattan and the Bronx increased by roughly 50 percent between 2022 and Tuesday, with more than 66,000 voters heading to the polls.

In another seat covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens, turnout more than doubled from 2022, though state and federal elections were held on different days that year and the seat was not competitive, which would have reduced the number of voters going to the polls.

Congressional candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America were able to replicate the mayor’s success by winning younger Latino voters in Brooklyn and a majority of Black voters in Harlem. Combined with the DSA’s base in relatively wealthy neighborhoods, the result charted the far left’s broadening appeal and a potential reorientation of the electorate that will influence races for years to come.

“This was a big wave for DSA and they did a good job capitalizing on it,” said Evan Roth Smith, a pollster with Slingshot Strategies. “The question now is: Was this a wave cycle that will abate, or is it the start of the takeover?”

Much of Mamdani’s base is concentrated in the so-called “commie-corridor,” a series of neighborhoods along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront filled with young, educated and affluent voters who’ve propelled several DSA candidates into office. They went gaga over Mamdani’s candidacy and, as Tuesday’s results show, will turn out for candidates he supports.

The area was crucial to Assemblymember Claire Valdez’s crushing 56-38 defeat of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.

“The factor that felt most significant to me were all of these New Yorkers who got activated and politicized in the mayor’s race last year who were looking for the next fight,” said Andrew Epstein, a political adviser to Mamdani who worked on Valdez’ campaign. “Those people didn’t go away. And they want to keep going.”

Valdez also won several heavily Latino areas that were expected to break for her opponent.

Reynoso was born in Brooklyn to Dominican parents and just a few years ago was a City Council member representing Bushwick, a long-gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood that’s home to Latino families and young hipsters. Valdez was born in Texas, moved to New York City in 2015 and served in the state Assembly for just one term before launching her Mamdani-backed bid for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat.

She ended up winning areas of Bushwick by even greater margins than the total results — in some election districts winning upwards of 80 percent of the vote.

“You don’t win the district by 35 points if you don’t have broad advantages across age and demographic groups,” said Michael Lange, an election analyst and Mamdani supporter who has tracked several contested races with extreme granularity. “Is she blowing him out of the water with Hispanic voters under 50? I see tons of evidence that the answer is yes.”

The age advantage was the common thread across several other races.

In Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, for example, younger Black voters in Harlem were key to Darializa Avila Chevalier’s win over Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who had built a small political empire in the district.

While gentrifying, the neighborhood remains a seat of Black political power and is home to younger households who tend to rent. That particular demographic is a strong indicator of why Mamdani won the area in 2025, even as he lost the Black vote overall to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose support was concentrated among older Black homeowners in Brooklyn and Queens.

While Espaillat never healed a rift with the Black community in upper Manhattan opened during his election in 2016, which contributed to his weak performance, Avila Chevalier demonstrated Tuesday that a significant share of voters there were not just supportive of Mamdani the person, but of the broader political movement he’s now leading.

Overall, she edged out Espaillat with Black voters 48-46, according to an analysis from The New York Times, which charted demographic breakdowns for several contested races.

Three winning congressional candidates endorsed by Mamdani — including former city Comptroller Brad Lander in Brooklyn, who unseated incumbent Dan Goldman — share several similarities. They won younger, college-educated and wealthier voters by huge margins, in several cases by 30 points or more, and lost lower-income voters to incumbents or candidates affiliated with incumbents — a sign that the movement seeking to boost struggling New Yorkers has not won them over.

While the DSA was able to win three state races without the support of Mamdani — a testament to the organizing prowess of the left that was essential to reactivating the mayor’s coalition — there were limits to the city’s leftward shift.

Rep. Grace Meng won her reelection race, though she only vanquished challenger Chuck Park by 14 points, an uncomfortable margin for an incumbent of her stature. Park, who ran to Meng’s left, was boosted by a huge turnout in Woodside, Queens, a multiethnic neighborhood that went heavily for Mamdani in last year’s mayoral race.

Elsewhere in the Bronx, however, incumbents remained strong. Rep. Ritchie Torres handily won reelection with 72 percent of the vote, though it was a low-turnout affair more consistent with an uncompetitive midterm. Nevertheless, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries touted the results — even as he watched a series of his endorsed candidates fall to the DSA in Brooklyn, his home borough, in a preview of the intraparty battles to come.

“In some higher-income districts, there was an outsized focus on the Middle East. In other districts, for instance, in the South Bronx, Ritchie Torres ran against somebody who was heavily critical of his position on Israel, and he won by fifty points,” Jeffries told MS NOW on Wednesday.