Congressional midterm election guide: Who's running in the June primary
Midterm elections are a chance for voters to express what they think of their representatives by choosing to keep them in office or select someone new.
This year's process officially began Monday, as candidates hoping to represent the 12 seats New Jersey has in the U.S. House of Representatives submitted their petitions to run in the June 5 primaries.
Unregistered voters have until May 15 to sign up to vote in the primary election. Only voters affiliated with a major party can choose their nominee for the general election.
While some seats are safe for the incumbents who hold them, like Bill Pascrell's in the 9th District and Bonnie Watson Coleman's in the 12th, others could face an uphill battle. Here's a look at the most competitive races.
Why Republicans could struggle
After more than year of Donald Trump’s presidency, Democratic and moderate voters in the state are determined to send the conservative party a message of their dissatisfaction by flipping red districts to blue.
And they have a solid chance to do that in districts where Republicans are most vulnerable: in the 11th and 2nd, where longtime Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen and Frank LoBiondo have decided to resign after completing their current terms, and in the 7th, where Rep. Leonard Lance has faced an anti-Trump backlash.
In New Jersey, a blue state, the Republican Party must overcome not just Trump's unpopularity, but perhaps more so that of former Gov. Chris Christie.
"Two leaders have hurt the party here," said Matthew Hale, political science professor at Seton Hall University. "Chris Christie's unpopularity is a big reason why Republicans are in trouble."
The energy of left-leaning, progressive voters is palpable across the country, but especially in the state’s 11th Congressional District. Hundreds of voters there spent the last year visiting Frelinghuysen’s district office weekly to express their disapproval of his voting record.
“New Jersey’s Democrats and Republicans are moderate and centrist,” Hale said. “We tend to elect people who are not too far on the ideological spectrum.”
Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced earlier this year that he would retire after completing his 12th term. This would have been his toughest election campaign. Trump won the district in 2016 by less than a percentage point. The following year, super-progressive Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy won the historically Republican district.
There’s also energy coming from the left in the 7th, where Lance’s seat is vulnerable.
The Cook Political Report recently rated his seat a toss-up, where previously it was leaning Republican. Democrat Hillary Clinton won in Lance’s district by 4,100 votes, while Murphy lost by 15,000.
Unlike Frelinghuysen, Lance has been holding town halls with his constituents in person as well as over the phone. Hundreds of his constituents attend the town halls and attack him for his voting record under Trump, although he was outspoken against the tax bill and the health insurance overhaul. He also opposed a bill that would make it easier to carry concealed weapons.
But, even so, the anti-Trump constituents associate him with the party's leader.
“In some respects, we’re seeing the moderate Republicans are in trouble because of the extremism of Donald Trump,” Hale said. “They’re getting thrown in the bucket as well, even if they’re not necessarily aligned with him.”
Competitive districts
There was a sea of Democratic hopefuls vying for the party's nomination in the 11th and 7th districts — the state's two most vulnerable Republican districts — earlier this year, but as the deadline for petition filing drew near, one by one they dropped from the race.
Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, is the Democratic party's front-runner in the 11th district for the primary. She filed her petition with more than 5,500 signatures, where the requirement is only 200, showing she has a strong support base.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his endorsement of Sherill.
"At a time when so many in our country feel left behind by Washington, we need to send leaders like Mikie to Washington who have proven records of service to others and of getting things done," Biden said in a statement from the campaign.
Sherrill faces four other Democrats, including Tamara Harris, a former social worker, who also has an energized following. Harris' campaign just opened a second office in Little Falls this past weekend.
On the Republican side, Jay Webber, a well-known Republican assemblyman, and four others will face off in the primary. Antony Ghee, a director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a major in the United States Army Reserves, is also running for that seat and has secured the Essex County line.
A last-minute candidate and deep-pocketed self-funder, Peter DeNeufville, might prove to be a tough challenge for Webber and Ghee. DeNeufville served as a campaign finance leader for Christie during his presidential run.
Meanwhile, in the 7th District, Lance will likely have a challenge in the general election, as opposed to the primary, where two lesser-known Republicans are running against him.
Seeking the Democratic nomination is Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official who served in the Obama administration. He'll face Peter Jacob, who has experience running against Lance, and one other Democrat.
Republicans running to replace LoBiondo in the 2nd District include a former candidate for governor, Hirsh Singh, and former Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi. On the Democratic side, Jeff Van Drew, a senator, will be up against two others.
"Republicans haven't coalesced around any one candidate down there, while Van Drew has support from centrist voters," Hale, the political science professor, said of the 2nd District races.
Hale said he would expect a higher turnout among Democrats in the primaries than Republicans.
Another competitive primary on the Republican side is in the 5th District, between former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan and John McCann, a former Cresskill councilman. Lonegan has made multiple runs for statewide office, including governor in 2009. The winner of this race will face Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who beat longtime former Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in 2016.
Gottheimer is running unopposed in the primary. He has $2.6 million on hand in his latest financial report on the Federal Election Commission website.
Hillary Clinton:Get more women to run for office and vote in midterm elections
More:Paramus grad Stacey Dash of 'Clueless' fame drops out of Congress race
More:Sen. Bob Menendez tries to shake cloud of corruption trial as he takes fight to Trump
Who’s running?
12th Congressional District
The 12th District spans parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties
Democrat:
Bonnie Watson Coleman*
Republican:
Daryl Kipnis
11th Congressional District
The 11th District spans parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties
Democrat:
Mark Washburne
Mikie Sherrill
Tamara Harris
Alison Heslin
Mitchell H. Cobert
Republican:
Jay Webber
Patrick Allocco
Antony E. Ghee
Martin Hewitt
Peter DeNeufville
10th Congressional District
The 10th District spans parts of Essex, Hudson and Union counties
Democrat:
Aaron Walter Fraser
Donald M. Payne Jr.*
Republican:
Agha Khan
9th Congressional District
The 9th District spans parts of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties
Democrat:
William O. Henry
Bill Pascrell Jr.*
Republican:
Eric P. Fisher
8th Congressional District
The 8th District spans parts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties
Democrat:
Albio Sires*
Republican:
John R. Muniz
7th Congressional District
The 7th District spans parts of Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren counties
Democrat:
Peter Jacob
Tom Malinowski
Goutam Jois
Republican:
Raafat Barsoom
Lindsay C. Brown
Leonard Lance*
6th Congressional District
The 6th District spans parts of Middlesex and Monmouth counties
Democrat:
Javahn Walker
Frank Pallone Jr.*
Republican:
Richard J. Pezzullo
5th Congressional District
The 5th District spans parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties
Democrat:
Josh Gottheimer*
Republican:
Steven M. Lonegan
John J. McCann
4th Congressional District
The 4th District spans parts of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties
Democrat:
Joshua Welle
Jim Keady
Republican:
Christopher H. Smith*
3rd Congressional District
The 3rd District spans parts of Burlington and Ocean counties
Democrat:
Andy Kim
Republican:
Martin B. Weber
Tom MacArthur*
2nd Congressional District
The 2nd District spans parts of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties
Democrat:
Tanzira “Tanzie” Youngblood
William Cunningham
Nate Kleinman
Jeff Van Drew
Republican:
Brian Fitzherbert
Seth Grossman
Samuel Fioochi
Robert D. Turkavage
Hirsh V. Singh
1st Congressional District
The 1st District spans parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.
Democrat:
Robert Lee Carlson
Scot John Tomaszewski
Donald W. Norcross*
Republican:
Paul E. Dilks
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections.
* denotes incumbent
Email: carrera@northjersey.com
More:One Day University in Wayne to explore political system, powerful people and happiness
More:Anti-Trump activists to train in Paramus to 'win back Congress' in mid-term election
More:In Trump era, a growing list of retirements from Congress