Gregg Mele
Gregg Mele (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 6th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 4, 2024.
Mele also ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent New Jersey. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on June 4, 2024.
Biography
Gregg Mele earned a bachelor's degree from Montclair State University. He graduate degrees from the Stevens Institute of Technology, New York University Law School, and the City University of New York, Baruch College. He earned a law degree from New York Law School. Mele's career experience includes working as a educator.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: United States Senate election in New Jersey, 2024
General election
General election for U.S. Senate New Jersey
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate New Jersey on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrew Kim (D) | 53.6 | 2,161,491 |
 | Curtis Bashaw (R) | 44.0 | 1,773,589 | |
 | Christina Khalil (G)  | 1.1 | 45,443 | |
 | Kenneth Kaplan (L) | 0.6 | 24,242 | |
 | Patricia Mooneyham (Vote Better Party) | 0.4 | 17,224 | |
| Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) | 0.2 | 9,806 | ||
| Total votes: 4,031,795 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bob Menendez (Independent)
- Nick Carducci (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Jersey
Andrew Kim defeated Patricia Campos Medina and Lawrence Hamm in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate New Jersey on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrew Kim | 74.8 | 392,602 |
 | Patricia Campos Medina | 16.1 | 84,286 | |
 | Lawrence Hamm | 9.1 | 47,796 | |
| Total votes: 524,684 | |||
| = 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kevin Cupples (D)
- Tammy Murphy (D)
- Bob Menendez (D)
- Kyle Jasey (D)
- Patrick Merrill (D)
- Joseph Signorello (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate New Jersey
Curtis Bashaw defeated Christine Serrano-Glassner, Justin Murphy, and Albert Harshaw in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate New Jersey on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Curtis Bashaw | 45.6 | 144,869 |
 | Christine Serrano-Glassner | 38.4 | 121,986 | |
 | Justin Murphy | 11.3 | 35,954 | |
 | Albert Harshaw | 4.7 | 15,064 | |
| Total votes: 317,873 | |||
| = 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
- Gregg Mele (R)
- Daniel Cruz (R)
- Peter Vallorosi (R)
- Shirley Maia-Cusick (R)
- Michael Estrada (R)
- Alex Zdan (R)
See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)
New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. defeated Scott Fegler, Fahad Akhtar, Herb Tarbous, and Matthew Amitrano in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Frank Pallone Jr. (D) | 56.1 | 170,275 |
 | Scott Fegler (R) | 40.3 | 122,519 | |
 | Fahad Akhtar (Common Sense Independent Party) | 1.6 | 4,871 | |
 | Herb Tarbous (G) | 1.4 | 4,246 | |
 | Matthew Amitrano (L) | 0.6 | 1,770 | |
| Total votes: 303,681 | |||
| = 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
- Justin Maldonado (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. defeated John Hsu in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Frank Pallone Jr. | 84.0 | 36,649 |
 | John Hsu | 16.0 | 6,992 | |
| Total votes: 43,641 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Scott Fegler defeated Gregg Mele in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Scott Fegler | 81.6 | 15,215 |
 | Gregg Mele | 18.4 | 3,440 | |
| Total votes: 18,655 | |||
| = 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
- Brian Largey (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Mele in this election.
2022
See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. defeated Susan Kiley, Tara Fisher, Inder Soni, and Eric Antisell in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Frank Pallone Jr. (D) | 57.5 | 106,238 |
 | Susan Kiley (R) | 41.0 | 75,839 | |
 | Tara Fisher (L) | 0.7 | 1,361 | |
| Inder Soni (New Jersey First) | 0.5 | 947 | ||
 | Eric Antisell (Move Everyone Forward) | 0.3 | 534 | |
| Total votes: 184,919 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Frank Pallone Jr. | 100.0 | 30,534 |
| Total votes: 30,534 | |||
| = 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
- Sherry Euvin (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6
Susan Kiley defeated Rik Mehta and Tom Toomey in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 7, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Susan Kiley | 56.8 | 10,076 |
 | Rik Mehta | 26.7 | 4,735 | |
 | Tom Toomey | 16.4 | 2,913 | |
| Total votes: 17,724 | |||
| = 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
- Gregg Mele (R)
2021 battleground election
Phil Murphy (D) defeated Jack Ciattarelli (R), Madelyn Hoffman (G), Gregg Mele (L), and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) in the election for governor of New Jersey. Murphy received 51.2 percent of the vote and Ciattarelli received 48.0 percent of the vote.
This election (alongside the 2021 legislative elections) helped determine New Jersey's trifecta status for the next two years. Heading into the election, New Jersey was a Democratic trifecta, with Democrats holding the governor's office and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Between 1992 and 2021, Republicans held the governorship for 16 years and Democrats held the governorship for 14 years. Heading into the 2021 election, the last Democratic governor to win re-election was Brendan Byrne in 1977. Since then, two sitting Democratic governors, Jim Florio (1993) and Jon Corzine (2009), lost re-election to Republican challengers.
In 2017, Murphy defeated then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno 56 percent to 42 percent. In that election, Murphy out-raised Guadagno $13.3 million to $3.9 million and out-spent her $9.8 million to $3.3 million. This cycle, based on post-general election reporting, Muprhy outraised Ciattarelli $16.3 million to $15.4 million and outspent Ciattarelli $16.4 million to $15.8 million.
Charles Stile of NorthJersey.com called the election a "race to the bottom" in a September 2021 article, citing Murphy and Ciattarelli's negative attacks targeting the other. Murphy used campaign ads and events to portray Ciattarelli as out of touch with the state's electorate and wanting to impose former President Donald Trump's (R) agenda on the state. Ciattarelli highlighted issues such as taxes and the handling of sexual abuse allegations to frame Murphy as an elected official who does not understand the needs of average New Jerseyites.[2]
In New Jersey, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run together on joint tickets. The lieutenant gubernatorial candidates were Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver (D), former state Sen. Diane Allen (R), Heather Warburton (G), Eveline H. Brownstein (L), and Vivian Sahner (Socialist Workers Party). The office was created as the result of a constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters on November 8, 2005, and effective as of January 17, 2006. The New Jersey Constitution requires that the governor appoint the lieutenant governor to head at least one principal department or agency, though that position may not be the attorney general's office.[3]
At the time of the election, two of the three major race rating outlets rated the general election as Solid Democratic and the third rated it as Likely Democratic.
See also: New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2021
New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021 (June 8 Republican primary)
New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021 (June 8 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent Phil Murphy defeated Jack Ciattarelli, Madelyn Hoffman, Gregg Mele, and Joanne Kuniansky in the general election for Governor of New Jersey on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Phil Murphy (D) | 51.2 | 1,339,471 |
 | Jack Ciattarelli (R) | 48.0 | 1,255,185 | |
 | Madelyn Hoffman (G) | 0.3 | 8,450 | |
| Gregg Mele (L) | 0.3 | 7,768 | |
| Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) | 0.2 | 4,012 | ||
| Total votes: 2,614,886 | |||
| = 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
- Robert Edward Forchion Jr. (Legalize Marihuana Party)
- Justin Maldonado (Independent)
- David Winkler (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent Phil Murphy defeated Lisa McCormick in the Democratic primary for Governor of New Jersey on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Phil Murphy | 100.0 | 382,984 |
 | Lisa McCormick (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 382,984 | |||
| = 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
- Roger Bacon (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey
Jack Ciattarelli defeated Philip Rizzo, Hirsh Singh, and Brian Levine in the Republican primary for Governor of New Jersey on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jack Ciattarelli | 49.5 | 167,690 |
 | Philip Rizzo | 25.7 | 87,007 | |
 | Hirsh Singh | 21.6 | 73,155 | |
 | Brian Levine | 3.3 | 11,181 | |
| Total votes: 339,033 | |||
| = 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
- Doug Steinhardt (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
| New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021: General election polls | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Date |  Murphy
|
 Ciattarelli
|
Other | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | Sponsor |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University | October 23-28, 2021 | 53% | 44% | 3%[4] | 0% | ± 3.4 | 823 | N/A |
| Monmouth University | October 21-25, 2021 | 50% | 39% | 2% | 9% | ± 3.1 | 1,000 | N/A |
| Emerson College | October 15-18, 2021 | 50% | 44% | 0% | 7% | ± 3.9 | 600 | N/A |
| Stockton University | September 17-25, 2021 | 50% | 41% | 5% | 3% | ± 4.1 | 552 | N/A |
| Monmouth University | September 16-20, 2021 | 51% | 38% | 2% | 9% | ± 3.5 | 804 | N/A |
| Fabrizio Lee | August 24-29, 2021 | 43% | 41% | 3%[5] | 14% | ± 4.0 | 600 | Club for Growth PAC |
| Monmouth University | August 11-16, 2021 | 52% | 36% | 3%[6] | 9% | ± 3.5 | 810 | N/A |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University | June 9-16, 2021 | 48% | 33% | 5%[7] | 14% | ± 3.5 | 803 | N/A |
| Rutgers University | May 21-29, 2021 | 52% | 26% | 11%[8] | 10% | ± 3.1 | 1,004 | N/A |
Campaign finance
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[9][10][11]
This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.
Race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[12]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[13][14][15]
| Race ratings: New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 1, 2021 | October 26, 2021 | October 19, 2021 | October 12, 2021 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Tom Malinowski defeated incumbent Leonard Lance, Diane Moxley, and Gregg Mele in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Tom Malinowski (D) | 51.7 | 166,985 |
 | Leonard Lance (R) | 46.7 | 150,785 | |
 | Diane Moxley (G) | 0.8 | 2,676 | |
| Gregg Mele (Freedom, Responsibility, Action Party) | 0.7 | 2,296 | |
| Total votes: 322,742 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Tom Malinowski defeated Peter Jacob and Goutam Jois in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom Malinowski | 66.8 | 26,172 |
 | Peter Jacob | 19.1 | 7,503 | |
 | Goutam Jois | 14.1 | 5,507 | |
| Total votes: 39,182 | |||
| = 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
- Kurt Perhach (D)
- David Pringle (D)
- Linda Weber (D)
- Lisa Mandelblatt (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7
Incumbent Leonard Lance defeated Lindsay Brown and Raafat Barsoom in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 7 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Leonard Lance | 74.9 | 24,934 |
 | Lindsay Brown | 14.4 | 4,795 | |
 | Raafat Barsoom | 10.7 | 3,556 | |
| Total votes: 33,285 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Campaign website
Gregg Mele’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Personal and Medical Freedom Over Mandates or Quarantines Medical decisions should be between a patient and a doctor, and, in the case of a minor, their parents. Medical mandates, as a one-size-fits-all, I’m-worried-so-the-rest-of-the-world-must-stop solution, are not providing any appreciable benefit, but they are causing a great deal of harm in many ways, especially to our children, not to mention the real discrimination that is occurring in a number of other life situations. Big Pharma is also to blame, where it has been admitted that death and hospitalization numbers were overstated regularly, so that they and hospitals could receive more government funding, and were therefore incentivized to inflate them. I will put an end to Big Pharma’s death grip on our lives, make sure they face far more scrutiny, and force greater transparency in pricing and otherwise. Personal and medical freedom requires all available options, including masks and vaccines, as well as access to any available medication, even if not yet formally approved by the FDA, if patients or parents understand the risks and want to try them. Also, there is a reason we have never quarantined the healthy before, because it doesn’t work, since the solution is worse than the problem on so many levels. The government’s job is not to protect us from every illness and disease that might come along; it is to provide honest and complete research and then have the citizens take personal responsibility for their own lives. We need to return to normal living and follow tried-and-true precautionary measures that are showing far more success in other states than we are having in New Jersey, such as quarantining only those who become sick and following reasonable (not militant) social distancing during flu season, but, most importantly, the choices/options must belong to the patient and parents. Everything else is government overreach at its worst, where, for all of our mandates and quarantines, we have among the highest death rates per capita in the country right here in New Jersey. The debacle of the nursing homes and the veterans’ hospitals must also be prevented from ever happening again, along with a need to fully investigate what led to so many unnecessary deaths already. We need our State to be a model of treating veterans right, since they make sacrifices for our country like few others. I will seek the elimination of state income taxes on veteran pensions, acceptance of VA health benefits at all hospitals, and employment preferences for veterans. My personal pledge is to visit veterans’ hospitals on a regular basis during my term of office. Helping Small Business, Lowering Taxes, Enabling Self-Sufficiency, and Reversing the Rate of Departures from the State Small business is the backbone of the economy, but they are being crushed in New Jersey, where we have lost over 30% of businesses, either closing down or leaving the state, due to the undue burden on those businesses in just the last few years. In the most rapid expansion of the wealth gap in recent memory, estate taxes were replaced by the gas tax and toll increases in New Jersey, which far more disproportionately impact the poor, but the real problem has a simple solution, which I will fight for every day: CUT THE SPENDING! Everyone talks about trying to reduce the rate of increase in spending, but that does not go far enough. We need the free market to do what it does best by minimizing government intrusion into it, particularly with small business. I will fight to minimize regulation to quality control specific to each industry, and otherwise promote opportunities for businesses to thrive. Government needs to handle other people’s money as responsibly as if it were their own. If we can spend tax revenue on training and enablement programs, where people can soon come off the government benefit rolls that keep them impoverished and enable them to support themselves and their families, we would save a lot of costs, and more people would enjoy the benefits of the dignity of work. This would also stop the flood of people leaving the state due to exorbitantly high taxes, where we are not seeing the return on that investment in terms of improving people’s lives with the current spending. I want people to stop depending on the government for survival, and be able to survive on their own. It is essential to any free society. School Choice, Home Schooling, and Free Market Competition New Jersey is typically one of the better-performing states in the country when it comes to education, but, on an international level, the quality of education in the United States, including New Jersey, has fallen off a cliff, taking us from a #1 world ranking prior to the establishment of the Department of Education (federal and state) to a current ranking of #26. It is clear that students today are not nearly as prepared for adult life and work as in previous generations, and I intend to help put a stop to that. There is a very clear reason for this current problem: The lack of competition for the public school system when it comes to revenue dollars. The best cure is school choice, with as many options, including home schooling, available as possible, where, critically, the funding from tax revenue follows the student, whatever choice a family makes for their children’s education. If a public school cannot perform, it needs to lose funding, and potentially close down, if that will strengthen the options for our children. All facets of the economy should be consumer-driven, with as many options available as possible, and the school system is no different. I will fight to have our children better educated than they have been the last several years, so they are better prepared to be independent, self-sufficient adults, ready to take on their normal adult responsibilities. They cannot be perpetually taken care of, and in fact, at some point in the future, they need to be equipped to take care of others, whether elderly parents or young children, or both. We are doing them a disservice if we do not prepare them for that responsibility and help them realize that it is okay, and is in fact necessary, that the party doesn’t go on forever. Students have always performed better when curriculum control has been de-centralized to allow for a variety of innovative teaching methods by the ones trained for it, the teachers. Adherence to the Second Amendment Everyone has a right to protect themselves and their families, and all the studies show that safer neighborhoods are those where legal gun ownership is easier to achieve. It is a clear deterrent to most criminals even if there is just a fair chance that any home they break into could have a legal gun owner inside, whether a particular home has one or not. At most, a simple NICS check, without any process involving the local police, should be sufficient for a permit, rather than the overburdensome regulations, extended waiting times, and ever-increasing, unduly-prohibitive fees and costs of gun ownership we now have in New Jersey. There are many ways to infringe upon the rights of the People to be gunowners, and, particularly here in New Jersey, almost every method has been implemented, as can be seen by the plethora of gun control legislation currently in place. It is a state and national concern to ease these burdens, as responsible gunowners prove time and again that they are the solution, not the problem, with violent crime. At the federal level, I will work tirelessly, as I already have, to eliminate a large portion of the problems by instituting concealed carry and reciprocity, while simultaneously preventing state and local infringements of 2A rights. With a streamlined, minimal process, the resources, and the associated costs, for regulation can be reduced, and the right to bear arms under 2A can be preserved as intended by our Founding Fathers. Border Crisis, Sanctuary Cities/States, and Voter ID It has become clear that the border situation is a mess, to the extent that there are even admissions that we need to go back to securing it, rather than the current free-for-all and totally porous border we now have. We have people coming in who are infected with diseases, a wide-open opportunity for terrorists to smuggle themselves into the country among the groups of illegal immigrants, and a fentanyl and human trafficking problem that is out of control. The current administration is clearly inept at handling these types of problems. It was proven that the wall worked, and I will fight to finish it. While we need to improve current immigration law to allow more good people to come here and realize the American Dream, it is also clear that we need to control the border situation much better, for the benefit of everyone on either side of it. Public lands are owned by the taxpayers, so, just like an individual who owns property, the property rights in either case allow the owners to set the rules for being invited onto those lands. Allowing sanctuary cities and states, as well as driver licenses for illegal aliens, is also a clear violation of the oath of elected office to uphold the Constitution, and needs to result in immediate removal and a permanent bar from holding elected office again. I will stand on the side of the Constitution and liberty every time on this issue. Regarding Voter ID laws, of course there is no valid argument against having these laws. Everyone is able to obtain IDs for things of far less importance, and to suggest that, for example, the law should allow illegal immigrants, or even permanent residents, to vote is illegal, treasonous, and also a violation of an elected official’s oath of office. It is clear that we have to enable every legal vote to be counted, but we also have to make sure no illegal vote is counted, as, by definition, those not allowed to vote cannot have interests that align with the best interests of the country. Transit/Roadway Infrastructure, Supply Chain, and Climate Change/Renewable Energy With the passage of the infrastructure law, I will fight for our State to receive their fair share of funding for critical/time-sensitive projects, while focusing on the inefficiencies and corruption in the process. It is no secret that taxes and tolls continue to skyrocket in New Jersey, yet our infrastructure, funded by those same taxes and tolls, continues to be ranked among the worst in the country. Due to prevailing wage laws, just like minimum wage laws or any other artificial imposition on the free market, our infrastructure costs the most by far per mile to maintain, so we once again need to go back to the free market, limiting these unsustainable impediments, and eliminating a limited bidding system that favors crony capitalism instead of true capitalism, the best system in world history. If the government would stop interfering in the free market, all these projects would dramatically improve, and resources would then be available to support fair wages and attract new members of the workforce to the variety of roles needed to help the supply chain recover and thrive. I will do everything I can to make sure government contracts have a fair and open bidding process, and also encourage businesses to allocate budgets appropriately to attract talented workers to help with the supply chain issue. As to sustainable energy, almost all alternatives have been shown, when pulling back the curtain to see what is involved in their production, to have a similar negative environmental impact as that of oil, with nuclear energy, under modern safety measures, delivering the best results for the environment. Exposing the problems associated with other forms of “clean” energy will be a priority for me, so people can know the truth about what works and what does not. |
” |
| —Gregg Mele’s campaign website (2024)[17] | ||
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Gregg Mele did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Gregg Mele did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Gregg Mele did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Mele’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
End the Lockdowns Address Small Business, Taxes, and Leaving the State Promote School Choice/Home Schooling Consumer Options Reduce Medical Regulation / Enable Consumer Choice Maintaining Transit and Roadway Infrastructure Encourage Private Sector Innovation to Fight Climate Change Adherence to the Second Amendment What's Next for the Legalization Issue |
” |
| —Gregg Mele’s campaign website (2021)[18] | ||
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.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ https://mele4america.com/about-gregg/ Gregg Mele for Congress NJ-06, "About Gregg," accessed June 1, 2024]
- ↑ NorthJersey.com, "'Hit him hard': The contest for NJ governor is already a race to the bottom," September 7, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed January 19, 2021
- ↑ This includes the responses of "Someone else" (2%) and "No one" (1%).
- ↑ This includes the responses of "Greg Mele" (2%) and "Madelyn Hoffman" (1%).
- ↑ This includes the responses of "Other candidate" (2%) and "No one" (1%).
- ↑ This includes the responses of "Other candidate" (4%) and "No one" (1%).
- ↑ This includes the responses of "Neither" (6%), "Someone else" (4%), and "Would not vote" (1%).
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gregg Mele’s campaign website, “Platform,” accessed June 1, 2024
- ↑ Gregg Mele’s campaign website, “Platform,” accessed September 3, 2021
