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New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Republican primary)
- Primary date: July 7
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): June 16
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: Pending
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): July 7 (received)
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District |
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 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 30, 2020 |
| Primary: July 7, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Jeff Van Drew (Republican) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in New Jersey |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Tilt Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th New Jersey elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated challenger Bob Patterson in the Republican primary for New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District on July 7, 2020. Van Drew received 82% of the vote to Patterson's 18%.
Van Drew was elected to the House in 2018 as a Democrat and served in the state legislature as a Democrat from 2002 to 2019. On December 19, 2019, he announced that he was switching his affiliation to Republican. Van Drew said, "This is who I am, it’s who I always was, but there was more tolerance of moderate Democrats, of Blue Dog Democrats, of conservative Democrats ... and I think that’s going away." The day before, Van Drew was one of two House Democrats to vote against both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump (R).[1]
Two candidates withdrew from the primary following Van Drew's party switch. Patterson stayed in, saying, "Republican voters have the right to choose which candidate should represent our party. Even if Mr. Van Drew’s switch is sincere, he is the most liberal member of the Republican caucus."[2]
Trump endorsed Van Drew in his re-election bid.[3] A Van Drew campaign ad said Trump endorsed him because he needed a conservative fighter in Congress working to secure the border and grow the economy. On his campaign website, Van Drew said, "Moderation for the good of our nation and our children is a virtue. It seems obvious to most of us, but unfortunately, extreme elements on both ends of the political spectrum are preventing that in Washington."[4]
Patterson said he was a lifelong Republican and the only candidate who was "truly pro-life, pro-Trump, pro-border security, and pro-America." He emphasized that he worked in the Trump administration and that NJ Right to Life PAC endorsed him.[5] Patterson criticized Van Drew's 100% rating from Planned Parenthood Action Fund and said he voted against Trump's signature policies including funding a border wall and repealing Obamacare.[2]
New Jersey's 2nd overlaps with eight counties, and Van Drew was endorsed by the eight counties' Republican executive committees.[6] In February, Patterson withdrew from the endorsing conventions and screenings after several county party chairs endorsed Van Drew.[7]
Three election forecasters rated the general election Lean or Tilt Republican as of the primary. In 2018, Van Drew won the general election with 53% of the vote to Republican Seth Grossman's 45%. Frank LoBiondo (R), who did not seek re-election in 2018, had held the seat since 1996. In the 2nd District, Trump received 51% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's (D) 46% in the 2016 presidential election.[8]
This page focuses on New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)
- New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
New Jersey modified its primary election process as follows:
- Election postponements: The primary election was postponed from June 2 to July 7.
- Candidate filing procedures: Candidates were allowed to collect and submit petition signatures via electronic means.
- Voting procedures: All registered, active Democratic and Republican received mail-in ballots automatically. Unaffiliated and inactive voters received mail-in ballot applications automatically.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Van Drew | 82.4 | 45,226 |
 | Bob Patterson | 17.6 | 9,691 | |
| Total votes: 54,917 | |||
 = 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
- David Richter (R)
- Brian Fitzherbert (R)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[9] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Biography: Patterson graduated from Cairn University and received graduate degrees from Wheaton College and Westminster Theological Seminary. Patterson was a senior speechwriter in George W. Bush's administration. He was also an adjunct professor of government at Patrick Henry College and vice president for government relations at the U.S. Business & Industry Council. Patterson served as acting associate commissioner at the Social Security Administration in the Trump administration. Patterson ran to represent New Jersey's 1st Congressional District in 2016.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 in 2020.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
U.S. House of Representatives (Assumed office: 2019); New Jersey State Senate (2008-2019); New Jersey General Assembly (2002-2008); Mayor of Dennis Township (1994-1995; 1997-2003); Cape May County Freeholder (1994-1997)
Biography: Van Drew earned his B.S. from Rutgers University and his D.D.S from Fairleigh Dickinson University Dental School. His professional experience includes working as a family dentist. Van Drew switched his affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 2019.
Show sources
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 in 2020.
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage point more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District the 231st most Republican nationally.[10]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.[11]
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[12] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[13] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Van Drew | Republican Party | $4,326,539 | $4,138,861 | $191,878 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Bob Patterson | Republican Party | $305,805 | $305,805 | $0 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Primaries in New Jersey
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Jersey utilizes a semi-closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is generally limited to registered party members. Unaffiliated voters can register as party members at the polls on primary election day. Otherwise, a voter must indicate his or her party preference (e.g., via an updated voter registration) no later than the 55th day preceding the primary in order to vote in that party's primary.[14][15]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
General election 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.[16]
- 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.[17][18][19]
| Race ratings: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Tilt Democratic | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Democratic | Toss-up | Toss-up | Toss-up | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
See also
- New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)
- New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2020 (July 7 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Associated Press, "Trump celebrates Rep. Van Drew’s switch from Democrat to GOP," December 19, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wall Street Journal, "Welcome to the Party—Now Go Home: Why I’m challenging longtime Democrat Jeff Van Drew in the Republican primary," January 27, 2020
- ↑ Press of Atlantic City, "Trump endorses Van Drew re-election after switch to GOP," December 20, 2019
- ↑ Jeff Can Drew's 2020 campaign website, "About," accessed July 2, 2020
- ↑ Bob Patterson's 2020 campaign website, "Home," accessed July 2, 2020
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Patterson has raised $219k for primary against Van Drew," April 14, 2020
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Patterson will skip conventions, calls process a ‘rubber stamp’ endorsement of Van Drew," February 10, 2020
- ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2016, 2012, and 2008," accessed July 6, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed September 27, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Statutes & Rules § 19:23-45," accessed September 27, 2024
- ↑ 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
