John Barker (New Jersey)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

John Barker

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 7, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Thomas Edison State College, 2004

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1983 - 1985

Personal

Birthplace

Bayonne, N.J.

Profession

Radiographer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign X

Personal Facebook

John Barker (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 7, 2022.

Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

John Barker was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. Barker's professional experience includes working as a radiographer and certified pesticide applicator. He served in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 1985. Barker earned a bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison State College in 2004.

Barker has been affiliated with the American Registry of Radiologic Technology, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and American Legion.

Elections

2022

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated Tim Alexander, Michael Gallo, and Anthony Parisi Sanchez in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (R)	58.9	139,217
		Tim Alexander (D)	40.0	94,522
		Michael Gallo (L)	0.8	1,825
		Anthony Parisi Sanchez (Not for Sale)	0.4	920

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 236,484
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Tim Alexander defeated Carolyn Rush in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Alexander	61.7	17,199
		Carolyn Rush	38.3	10,667

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,866
= 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

• Hector Tavarez (D)
• Curtis Green (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated John Barker and Sean Pignatelli in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	86.0	35,843
		John Barker	7.7	3,217
		Sean Pignatelli	6.2	2,601

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,661
= 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

• Scott Hitchner (R)

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

John Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

JohnBarkerforCongress.com I am fighting to bring sanity back to Government. We need to stop the crazy left wing Democrats. Please support JohnBarkerforCongress.com

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• America First
• Less Government
• We, the People

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Taxes, Education

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My mother, Eleanore Barker. Hard work, independent, tough cookie.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To benefit the Citizens of the Country. Not the politicians.
Working for the people that voted for you, and the ones that did not.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Made life better for people in my District.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

In 1976 we had the Bicentennial celebration. I was 11 years old. I also remember the moon landings, however not as vividly as 1976.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

When I was 12, I delivered The Asbury Park Press newspaper every day by bicycle. I did that for about 2 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Islands in the Stream, by Ernest Hemmingway.
The book contained family matters, heroism, and tragedy.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman. He could do just about anything. And I really want to fly.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Bulletproof. By Samantha Fish.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Being part of one of the 3 branches of Government. Hard to get much more unique.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not necessarily. See 'term limits'.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

China is the USA's number one adversary and will continue to be over the next decade. Not necessarily militarily, but as an economic power.
This could be solved relatively easily if we brought manufacturing and other jobs back to the US.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Budget. Oversight/reform. Veteran Affairs.

If you are a current representative, why did you join your current committees?

n/a

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No. Not long enough. With the way members must campaign, the term length hinders actually work time available.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe that the Founding Fathers wanted term limits. Congress was never supposed to become the full-time job it is today. But we are here now and do not foresee any changes coming soon.
Politicians make the rules, and they are not writing any rules that will get themselves removed from office.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Rep. Jim Jordon (R) Ohio.
Tough. Direct speaker. No nonsense.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I saw a woman, the day before Thanksgiving, going through a garbage can, looking for a drink. I watched her pull out used coffee cups and drink the remains.

I thought, how could this be? What if that was my mother, or sister?

More needs to be done.

Tell us your favorite joke.

2 peanuts were walking down the street. One was a salted.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. But I am not holding my breath for the wacky Democrats to start believing in compromise.

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

My priority would be to raise revenue without taxing the lower / middle classes. EVER.

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.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Website

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Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Vacant

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (3)

Vacancies (1)