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Beau Forte

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Beau Forte
Image of Beau Forte

Green Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

River Dell Regional High School

Other

Lincoln Technical Institute, 1998

Personal
Birthplace
New Jersey
Religion
Not religious
Profession
Sales
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Campaign TikTok

Personal Facebook

Beau Forte (Green Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Forte completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Beau Forte was born in Weehawken, New Jersey. He earned a high school diploma from River Dell Regional High School and graduated from the Lincoln Technical Institute in 1998. His career experience includes working in sales.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)

New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer defeated Mary Jo Guinchard, Beau Forte, James Tosone, and Aamir Arif in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Josh Gottheimer
Josh Gottheimer (D)
 
54.6
 
208,359
Image of Mary Jo Guinchard
Mary Jo Guinchard (R)
 
43.3
 
165,287
Image of Beau Forte
Beau Forte (G) Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
3,428
Image of James Tosone
James Tosone (L) Candidate Connection
 
0.6
 
2,440
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Aamir Arif (Peace Freedom Liberty Party)
 
0.6
 
2,375

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 381,889
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Josh Gottheimer
Josh Gottheimer
 
100.0
 
42,819

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 42,819
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Mary Jo Guinchard defeated George Song in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 4, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Jo Guinchard
Mary Jo Guinchard
 
69.8
 
21,321
Image of George Song
George Song
 
30.2
 
9,238

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 30,559
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Forte in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Beau Forte completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Forte's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

My name is Beau Forte and I am running for Congress in NJ’s 5th Congressional district. I am a father, a husband, and a homeowner in West Milford. I grew up in Rochelle Park and was raised by my father with help from my grandparents and my aunt. My father worked hard to ensure I had the best childhood possible. In 1981, he purchased the home that I grew up in, and moved my grandparents and aunt in with us to help him raise me. It was the first time my grandparents didn’t have to worry about making rent payments and could have their very own yard for a garden. My father was very proud of that. I am a graduate of River Dell Regional High School in Oradell and Lincoln Technical Institute in Mahwah. Aside from a few years living in Massachusetts, I am a lifelong resident of North Jersey. I started my career with a building supply company in Maplewood, NJ and have spent most of the last twenty years employed as a manufacturers representative for an independent sales agency. I covered a territory of multiple states, had the privilege of meeting and working with many wonderful people.
  • Universal Healthcare - right now, over 1000 Americans file for bankruptcy every day solely due to personal medical bills. We are the only industrialized nation that does not have a universal healthcare system. If you are diagnosed with cancer, your chances are almost 50% that fighting the disease will take everything you own within TWO YEARS. We can and must do better than this.
  • Expansion of Congress - in 1920, the United States has a population of approximately 106 million people, and those people were represented by 435 members of Congress. Today, we have a population of approximately 330 million people, but we are still only represented by 435 members of Congress. Expansion proportionate to population growth would have so many positive impacts for our nation. It would make it harder for political parties to gerrymander districts, make it harder for lobbyists and wealthy people to purchase votes, make it harder for elected representatives to hide from their constituents, and so much more. It would actually help us to begin to restore faith on our democracy, while curbing corruption.
  • Civil Rights - this applies to both home and abroad. Civil Rights are under attack globally right now. Here at home, women have lost the right to make decisions about their own bodies, The LGBTQ+ community are in danger of losing rights they thought they permanently attained not long ago, and elected officials want college kids to be investigated for having opinions that are unpopular to wealthy dark money donors. Abroad, we continue to support wars of genocide and regimes that implement an apartheid system over it's ingenious citizens, regimes that murder journalists, and regimes that are equally hostile to women and/or The LGBTQ+ community. Again, we can and must do better.
Healthcare, transparency, proper representation, civil rights, campaign finance and anti-corruption.
So many people. I look up to underdogs who never quit fighting for what is right even at risk of their own death, and intellectuals who chose to help mankind more than themselves. I was inspired to run because of Bernie Sanders, and I looked up to my father, but I get inspiration from Nelson Mandela, Alice Paul, Jonas Salk, Woody Guthrie, Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seal, Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Niccolo Sacco and Bart Vanzetti, Dorothy Day, W.E.B. Dubois, Harriet Tubman, and so many more.
Most of my political philosophies can be heard in Woody Guthrie's music catalog.
transparency and inclusivity. The ability to honestly hear both sides before making a decision. Listening to your constituency, and making a priority of helping those that need it most. Representing an entire electorate or district, and not just the wealthiest residents inside (or outside) the district who donate the most money. Courage to do the right thing, regardless of the personal cost. Honesty.
I am honest, I know what it's like to worry about paying bills, I have met many people and heard many stories from wage earning people during my career alone, and I believe that I have their best interests in mind. I know what it is like to bully and be bullied, and the long-term ramifications of both actions. I know what it's like growing up in a single parent home, and the long term impact of not being in a secure environment early in my life. My life experiences have been vast for someone like me, and I want to bring those experiences to Washington to serve the working people who are just like me, which is a group that has been grossly underserved for all of my life.
Defend The Constitution, Represent the district, write and/or support legislation that will help the majority of people in my district and in the country. Ensure that every citizen in the district is heard, supported, and told the truth, especially when my own views on an issue is unpopular.
Someone who helped people who needed it most. Someone who was fair and honest. A good father and husband, and an overall good citizen who was an asset to his community, district, country, and planet.
John Lennon's murder in 1980. I was almost 5, and I remember seeing everyone on TV, and my father driving down Rt. 17 that day or the day after, and everyone giving peace signs to each other.
Retail Sales at The Garden State Plaza, at a store that no longer exists called "Going To The Game." I think I was there for 6 months to a year when I was 16.
The Catcher In The Rye. It was the first book I was able to read cover to cover, and really delved into the life of an isolated, lonely boy. I felt I had connections with Holden.
Han Solo. Quick on the draw, and seemed to be good with the ladies. Hung around some sketchy people, and did some sketchy things, but in the end played a big hand in straightening out the galaxy for good. Not the hero, but a huge reason why The Hero won.
"Fish and Whistle" by John Prine
Reading and comprehending what I read. I never really knew why until I was a young adult. I am dyslexic, and I have been told by educators when I was young that I have ADD and ED. It was never easy for me to sit and read, and then comprehend what I read. I would have to exhaustingly focus and read sentences over and over to comprehend them. I still have trouble to this day. Text books and instruction manuals are the worst for me to try to tackle and get information from. Finding music with a message, and later audiobooks were a godsend for me. Spending years worth of time on the road as a traveling salesman, audiobooks opened up a world of literature to me that I never thought possible.
It is the heart of The American Machine. Everything this nation does must in some way be approved by Congress. It has the power to make and end wars, it has the power to legislate laws, and it has the power to impeach presidents.
No. I think that coming in completely untarnished by politics can be a very good thing.
Climate change, the wealth gap, and healthcare. These three issues must be tackled before the decade is over, with a precise comprehensive plan moving forward. Expansion of Congress will help us solve these issues, as it will bring different views and solutions to the table that aren't as corporate/dark money sponsored as they are now.
Yes.
I personally would not want to hold a single office for more than 4-8 years. That said, I'm not sure that term limits are democratic. If the people want someone to represent them for a long period of time, they should not be limited by laws that don't allow it. I believe that expansion of Congress would deal with this in a more democratic way. If you have a smaller electorate, you have less interest from big money donors to keep you in your place for decades.
Thaddeus Stevens - Though I am not nearly as smart, I would love to be as committed, cunning, and unwavering in my views while still being able to make sometimes unpopular decisions that I know will assist my constituency long term.
Their are numerous stories that I have been told about the nightmares of our healthcare system, from inconsistent billing practices to the nightmare of private facilities who put profit over care, these stories hit me the hardest, because I lived it.
Can't do that in this forum.
Yes, absolutely. But, that compromise can not be made when the facts are either not present or not correct on the opposing side.
I would use this power to ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share. I would use this power to ensure Americans have the same freedoms that most other countries do, like universal healthcare, and universal education through adulthood. If we are "raising revenue", we must ensure it is for the good of the majority of Americans.
Justly, non-politically, and in ways that serves the majority of Americans. We must ensure that people are safe, while also ensuring that government never oversteps personal privacy.
Ceasefire Coalition Candidates
Education and The Workforce - As someone with dyslexia, and coming through the special education system, I have some knowledge of how a kid can be pushed aside due to disabilities, and eventually lose all interest in academics. I believe I would be a valuable addition to this committee.

Ethics - Coming into Congress as a working person, with no political experience at all, this would probably be a great committee for me. I would come into this committee untarnished, and unbought.

Foreign Affairs - we need more regular citizens debating and signing legislation that determines who receives aid, who we sign treaties with, who we trade with, etc.
I am for almost 100% transparency in our government. Citizens should have simple access to how their representatives vote, who donates to their campaigns, how much they donate, etc. I also believe that elected officials must give access to every one of their constituents. Monthly Town Hall meetings with unscreened questions, monthly zoom meetings that are the same. An elected member of Congress is the voice of the people that they represent, and must go out of their way to hear all voices.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Forte’s campaign website stated the following:

“

Universal Healthcare

My top priority will be to enact a single-payer universal healthcare system. Every day, an average of 900 people in our country are forced into bankruptcy due to overwhelming personal medical bills. These Americans, and all Americans, deserve access to quality treatment they deem necessary without risk of losing everything they own.

On Day One in office, my team will seek out every member of Congress who supports this goal and form a coalition to negotiate and introduce a bill that will finally benefit all Americans. This bipartisan coalition will stand ready to force a vote on this crucial issue that affects us all. At the very least, Americans should know whose side their representative is on.

Expansion of Congress

Congress must revive our past practice of increasing its membership according to the census. In 1920 – the first census year Congress declined to do so – the US population was approximately 106 million people. Today it stands at roughly 330 million, and Congress still has the same 435 members for a population that has more than tripled. Bringing back this just and sensible practice so that members of Congress may represent the people properly in smaller districts will serve to:

  • make every Representative closer, and thereby more accountable to, the people;
  • stand as a barrier to partisan political gerrymandering; and
  • dampen the impact of unelected Washington lobbyists on our daily lives.

Cease Fire Now

In 2018, The Smithsonian published a report that the U.S. has been at war for an average of 93.5% of the calendar year between 1775 and 2018. No American child born after 2001 has ever known an America during peacetime. This must stop. Additionally, our nation’s unwavering support for Israel must not come at the expense of countless innocent Palestinian lives; funding a proxy war is no different from funding any other war. The money spent on bankrolling these endless, brutal, faraway conflicts will be much better spent providing Americans back home with universal healthcare and education programs.

I will fight every effort by Congress to meddle in wars abroad that don’t serve American interests, protecting our country’s blood and treasure along with innocents who would be caught in the crossfire. In addition, my office will stand steadfast with our nation’s veterans, ensuring that their bravery is rewarded, not wasted in pursuit of a shady corporate or foreign agenda. We must defang the giant defense corporations holding our government hostage and remove every politician they’ve bought and paid for from power.

Direct and Honest Dialog with Constituents

Members of Congress across the nation – including, sadly, our own current one – have forsaken this crucial obligation, reducing it to a canned spectacle dusted off for campaign season. With the average district encompassing nearly 800,000 people, constituent issues that deserve a Representative’s direct attention end up buried on a staffer’s desk.

I will return home to you at least once a month to hold direct, public town hall meetings, without pre-screening your questions. It is impossible to have facetime with everyone, but I pledge to prioritize spending time at home with you as a public servant, not as a distant celebrity coming back only to ask for votes every two years.

Reproductive and LGBTQ+ Rights

As the father of a wonderful little girl, I cannot imagine living in a country whose government doesn’t acknowledge my daughter’s innate authority to determine what she can do with her own body, future and destiny. Similarly, I have always believed that no free society has the authority to legislate behavior between consenting adults, regardless of sexuality or gender identity.

My office will be committed to proposing and drafting constitutional amendments returning full bodily autonomy to American women and placing LGBTQ+ rights where they belong, at the same level of importance as any other civil right.

Environment

As a supporter of The Green New Deal, I believe it is the best climate-crisis solution ever proposed, but that’s not all it is. I also believe that it will stimulate the American economy with hundreds of thousands of good, paying American jobs for decades to come. We need to phase out old technologies that have been in place for over a century and progress toward cleaner, renewable energy. Like me, I know you have had enough of the deceptive “it’s too expensive” argument of this bill’s cynical opponents. It’s especially frustrating to hear it while both political parties ship our tax dollars overseas to fund pointless conflicts or waste them on $500 hammers via the military-industrial complex.

I pledge to reintroduce the Green New Deal, with financial offsets coming from eliminating tax loopholes for the rich as well as from reducing the money spent on endless and brutal foreign wars. More locally, I will also introduce legislation to marshal resources to clean up neglected “superfund sites” in our district; we must address mistakes of the past to ensure clean water and a better environment moving forward.[2]

”
—Beau Forte’s campaign website (2024)[3]

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Beau Forte campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* U.S. House New Jersey District 5Lost general$0 N/A**
Grand total$0 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 13, 2024
    2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    3. ↑ Beau Forte’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 24, 2024


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