Jeff Van Drew-- More Dysfunctional Recruiting From The DCCC

Norcross, Christie, Van Drew

The new Quinnipiac Poll of likely Iowa caucus goers shows New Jersey Governor Chris Christie falling behind in the dust with just 3% support. In New Hampshire, the new WMUR poll released this morning shows Christie's support at the same embarrassing 3%-- in the state he's counting on to turn it all around for him! As New Hampshire voters have gotten to know him better, his standing has sunk from 9 to 3%. Even Trump and Fiorina have more support-- although Christie still leads Santorum, Jindal, Graham and Pataki. 

And a new poll from Monmouth University of New Jersey voters shows that the people who know him best do not believe he has the right temperament to be president. "In a hypothetical match-up with Hillary Clinton, Chris Christie trails the Democrat 53% to 30% among registered voters in the Garden State. Christie also trails his fellow Republican contenders as a preferred candidate. More New Jersey voters believe Jeb Bush (42%) would make a better president than Chris Christie (27%). Similarly, more Garden State voters believe Scott Walker (34%) would make a better president than Christie (24%)." Christie's support in his own state has essentially evaporated since February. 2016 may be a very good year for New Jersey Democratic candidates up and down the ticket.

Of New Jersey's 12 congressional districts, 6 are held by Democrats and 6 by Republicans. However, of the 6 held by Republicans, 2 are swing districts. Obama beat both McCain and Romney in all the Democratic districts and in NJ-02 (LoBiondo) and NJ-03 (MacArthur). Cook rates NJ-02 a D+1 and NJ-03 an R+1. Either seat could be flippable. Unfortunately, the DCCC (and the DSCC) are poor advocates for congressional Democrats. Both committees are run from an apologist perspective of what it means to even be a Democrat. Both committees actively recruit corrupt conservatives with tenuous connections to the values behind the Democratic Party. For that vulnerable LoBiondo seat the DCCC has managed to lose and lose and lose, and they've settled on this year's losing strategy again: recruit someone almost as conservative as the Republican and see if Hillary Clinton voters just vote for the candidate anyway. The DCCC wants state Senator Jeff Van Drew, about as bad as you can find in Democratic politics, even in South Jersey.

Van Drew is the Vice Chair of New Jersey's Senate Environment Committee. In 2013 he was one of the only Democrats in the state legislature with a lower environmental ranking from the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters other than the execrable Donald Norcross-- a crooked Machine pol whose first vote after being elevated to the House was to back the Keystone XL Pipeline. Norcross' score was 59% and Van Drew's was 68%. Clean Water Action rated Van Drew a 22%, lowest of any New Jersey state Senator.

And Van Drew has more right-wing tendencies than just being a kiss-up for developers and other anti-environment special interests. He was the only Democrat in the New Jersey state legislature, for example, to get an A from the NRA, outscoring a pack of Republicans. This is the record of this "Democrat," seen by the DCCC as a reason to recruit him for higher office:

• In 2010, Van Drew sponsored a bill to allow residents to carry handguns.


• In 2011, he appeared with Steve Lonegan (who was there in his capacity as State Director of Americans for Prosperity) to rally support for a bill to repeal cap and trade, and expressed his support for nuclear power and fossil fuels. Also in 2011, Van Drew sponsored a bill to abolish the seven-day waiting period before shelter animals could be killed. And of course, he was one of those Christiecrats who voted to cut public workers’ pensions and benefits.

• In 2013, he broke with the Democratic leadership on gun control and marriage equality.

Rahm Emanuel, Chris Van Hollen, Steve Israel (plus the current Steve Israel sock puppet) have utterly ruined the DCCC. It's a loser organization and one that is chipping away at the Democratic brand in a way that Republicans never could. They really are recruiting garbage candidates all across the country-- like Jeff Van Drew.

State Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1) is being seriously pursued by the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to run against incumbent Republican Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-2), a national Democratic source based in Washington, D.C. has told PolitickerNJ.

“The DCCC is actively recruiting Jeff Van Drew to run against Frank LoBiondo,” the Democratic source said, “Staff from the DCCC met with Van Drew in his [legislative] district in New Jersey.”

LoBiondo, who has represented New Jersey’s Second Congressional District since 1995, decisively defeated his Democratic challenger, Bill Hughes, Jr., by a wide 61 percent to 37 percent margin in 2014. Hughes, Jr. is the son of respected former U.S. Rep. Bill Hughes, who held the CD 2 seat for 20 years. But several Democratic county chairs in the South Jersey-based Congressional district held back from endorsing Hughes, Jr. until after Van Drew publicly declared that he would not run for Congress.

“If LoBiondo retired, the field in South Jersey might clear for Van Drew,” said a South Jersey Democratic operative. “The question is if Van Drew is serious about running.”

The D.C.-based Democratic source added that Democratic President Barack Obama won New Jersey’s Second Congressional District with more 54 percent of the vote in 2012.

“LoBiondo had weak fundraising so far this year,” the national Democratic source said. “He raised only $77,000 in the first quarter of 2015.”

Van Drew, confirming that he has met with DCCC staff, told PolitickerNJ that he is flattered by the national party attention, but is still focused on local races.

”I’m focusing on the assembly race,” Van Drew told PolitickerNJ. “I’m honored they would consider me, but right now I’m focused on the business at hand.”