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Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Kennedy defeats Norcross-backed Harrison in New Jersey’s 2nd District House race


Amy Kennedy, a former school teacher and member of one of the nation’s most famous political dynasties, defeated political science professor Brigid Harrison on Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd District — a victory for the state’s progressives and Gov. Phil Murphy and a stunning blow to the powerful but beleaguered South Jersey Democratic machine.

“What the results tonight clearly show is that people here in South Jersey are ready for change,” Kennedy said during an outdoor victory speech in the shore town of Northfield, with Murphy and other supporters looking on.

Harrison conceded at 9 p.m., an hour after the polls had closed.

“Tonight, after a primary that has been tough for all of us, we stand together,” Harrison said. “Amy Kennedy is the choice of the Democratic Party, and each of us have the responsibility to get involved and help her in any way we can.”

Kennedy, who is married to former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), will face freshman Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew in November. Van Drew, long a conservative Democrat, defected to the GOP late last year, pledging his “undying support” to President Donald Trump. The race is expected to be one of the most competitive in the state.

“We have had enough division, enough hate, enough selfishness, being abandoned, mistreated and forgotten. We’ve had enough of you and Donald Trump,” Kennedy said, referring to Van Drew.

The Democratic primary in the 2nd District was the most closely watched in the state. A Republican primary in the neighboring 3rd District, the winner of which will take on Democratic freshman Rep. Andy Kim, also garnered intense attention, while progressive challengers ran longshot campaigns against six of New Jersey’s 10 Democratic House incumbents and Sen. Cory Booker.

Tuesday’s unprecedented election — postponed from June 3 because of the coronavirus pandemic — was conducted mostly by mail-in ballot, although voters had the option of voting in-person by provisional ballot. Close races likely won’t be called for some time. Mail-in ballots will be counted until next Tuesday, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, and provisional ballots won’t be counted until July 15.

Kennedy and Harrison, though not far apart ideologically, were backed by competing factions of New Jersey’s Democratic Party.

South Jersey power broker George Norcross and state Senate President Steve Sweeney came out early in support of Harrison. Over the last two weeks, a super PAC unofficially controlled by Norcross spent roughly $500,000 on advertising to boost Harrison, who was out-funded by Kennedy. Booker and New Jersey’s other Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, also backed Harrison.

Kennedy had the support of many of New Jersey’s progressive organizations, the state’s major public workers unions and, late in the campaign, Murphy — all of whom have spent much of the last two years battling Norcross and Sweeney on a host of issues.

Three other candidates — attorney and former congressional staffer Will Cunningham, environmentalist John Francis III and former FBI agent Rob Turkavage — also sought the nomination, but were far behind in vote totals. Cunningham, who’s Black, alleged racial bias in the media’s focus on Harrison and Kennedy, who are white.

Candidates backed by Norcross and Sweeney don’t typically suffer losses on their South Jersey turf. Harrison had the backing of six of the eight counties that comprise the district, which stretches from the Jersey shore westward to the Philadelphia suburbs. But Kennedy, through an alliance with the controversial political machine headed by former Atlantic City Council President Craig Callaway, won party support in Atlantic County, which has the most Democrats in the district.

Sue Altman, leader of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and a frequent critic of Norcross, said Kennedy’s victory shows the South Jersey Democratic machine is “weaker than people realize.”

Altman said it’s likely there will be more primary challenges to machine-backed candidates in 2021, when Murphy is up for reelection along with the 120-member state Legislature.

“Voters have chosen to vote against the machine, and to me that signals a wide open opportunity for progressives in a purple part of the state where we can take real ground in this election against Jeff Van Drew and beyond into 2021,” Altman said.

Kennedy’s victory is the latest blow South Jersey Democrats have suffered in the past year.

A Murphy administration task force investigation of a tax credit program designed and championed by Norcross family members and allies has resulted in state and federal investigations; South Jersey Democrats lost three state legislative seats in last year’s election; and on Monday, an appeals court rejected an attempt by Norcross to halt the task force’s work.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Norcross — who in 2018 backed the then-Democrat Van Drew for the 2nd District seat — said he will support Kennedy in the general election.

“It is important that we retake the Second Congressional seat and continue to advance a pro-worker, pro-reform, and pro-civil justice agenda in Washington, DC,” Norcross stated. “I look forward to working with Amy, Governor Murphy, Senators Booker and Menendez and every Democrat and every voter in the District who is committed to our shared values in order to take this seat back and build on the Democratic majority in Congress."

As of late Tuesday, other competitive primaries in New Jersey had not been called.

In 3rd District Republican primary, David Richter, a former construction company executive, built up a huge lead against former Burlington County Freeholder Kate Gibbs, based on votes from Ocean County, where Richter has the local party’s support.

The winner will face Kim in November.

Richter had declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination to run against Van Drew the Democrat in the 2nd District. However, he succumbed to pressure from Republicans who sought to clear the primary field for Van Drew and chose to run in the 3rd District instead.

The Richter-Gibbs race was particularly nasty, with Richter cutting an ad that cited some run-ins Gibbs had with the law when she was in her 20s, including a shoplifting conviction, and compared her to the “Jersey Shore” star Snooki. Gibbs accused Richter of being a district-shopper and noted that his company entered a business arrangement with the brother of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and did work in Libya during the Qaddafi regime.

The race was also a battle between the more moderate GOP in Burlington County, which includes the Philadelphia suburbs, and the more conservative party in Ocean County, which includes a number of shore communities. Gibbs had the backing of Burlington County Republicans, who believed a millennial woman was needed to shore up support among the suburban women who have been fleeing the GOP. Richter was backed by Ocean County Republicans and was advised by Trump’s deputy campaign manager, Bill Stepien.

Booker, who’s been in office since 2013, easily beat back a primary challenge by activist Larry Hamm. As of late Tuesday, it was unclear who the Republican nominee will be against Booker, who is heavily favored to win reelection. Five candidates vying for the nomination. The contest largely was between pharmacist Rik Mehta and engineer Hirsh Singh.

The last time a Republican was elected to the U.S. Senate from New Jersey was in 1972.



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