New Jersey’s Second Congressional District encompasses the counties of Salem, Cumberland, Cape May, and Atlantic as well as portions of Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Ocean. In early November 2017, Frank LoBiondo (R), the incumbent representative of NJ-2, announced that he would not be campaigning for re-election in 2018. Politico, a political journalism publication based in Arlington, writes that LoBiondo’s decision “opens a battleground district in southern New Jersey that LoBiondo has held easily since 1994.” State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D) and attorney Seth Grossman (R) are running in the general election along with John Ordille (L) and independent candidates Anthony Parisi Sanchez, William Benfer, and Steven Fenichel.
Seth Grossman, the Republican candidate, is campaigning in support of President Donald Trump, stating that his mission if elected will be to “forcefully defend and protect President Trump and his agenda every way I can.” He is in support of repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and aims to further enforce immigration laws. Jeff Van Drew, who is running on the Democratic ticket, is building his platform on morality. He strives to meet the Democratic and Republican parties in the middle, stating when declaring his candidacy “Expect to hear a lot from me during this campaign about finding common ground…The future of our democracy depends on finding ways around our differences, so we can work together on all that we have in common.” Issues of importance to Van Drew include college affordability, bringing manufacturing jobs to South Jersey, defending veterans, civil rights, lowering the cost of healthcare, equal pay, protecting U.S. relations with Israel, and lowering taxes. He is also a defender of agriculture and fishing, writing that “It is imperative that we promote policy that will protect this industry and its huge contribution to our economic success.” Additionally, he opposes offshore drilling, privatizing Social Security and Medicare, and raising the retirement age.
A poll conducted by Stockton University on September 12-18, 2018, showed that Van Drew has a 23 point lead (55-32). The study included a sample size of 535 and a margin of error of +/-4.2. Additionally, FiveThirtyEight, a statistical analysis website, rates Van Drew as having a 97.6% chance of victory. The voting history of New Jersey’s Second Congressional District is complex, with Trump having been elected with 50.6% of the vote to Clinton’s 46% in 2016. Barack Obama, however, was elected twice by the district with 53-54% of the vote. The 2018 Cook Partisan Voter Index for NJ-2 is R+1. This indicates that the district’s results were 1 percent more Republican than the national average. Voting will take place on November 6 from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Online registration and same-day registration will not be available.
-Jessica Hutt