Richard Barilla

Richard Barilla (independent) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.^[source]

Barilla completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Richard Barilla was born in New York. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 and a graduate degree from the New York University Stern School of Business in 2005. His career experience includes working as a computer engineer.^[1]

Elections

2026

General election

The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Richard Barilla is running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Richard Barilla (Independent)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Incumbent Robert Menendez Jr. and Mussab Ali are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8 on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
		Robert Menendez Jr.
		Mussab Ali

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Richard Barilla completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barilla's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an independent candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives for New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District. As an Engineer and Teacher, I possess a unique combination of skills that enable me to approach problems from multiple perspectives. I have a penchant for comedy, theater, music, and entertainment and have even tried stand-up open mic events.

My experiences in education, engineering, technology, healthcare, law, finance, operations, and humanities have equipped me with a broad understanding of the issues that affect New Jersey’s communities. My upbringing has been a journey of growth, and I believe that my entire life has led me to this moment, where I can make a positive impact as a representative of all people.

As a bona-fide multi-cultural and bi-racial citizen, I have faced and endured the same daily struggles as the people I wish to represent. I am committed to using my diverse personal and professional experiences to inform my decision-making and ensure that every individual has an equal voice.

I believe our leaders today should evermore instill guiding principles so that families, communities, schools, and other nations yearn to live to create, to share, to tap into our hearts and souls and succeed via human collaboration and warmth, not calculated competition. With bravery and intelligence at an all-time low, we must renew our education and governments to focus on truth, conscientiousness, and God-given rights as our collective objectives.

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?

Free Speech - I firmly believe that all forms of free speech and expression must NEVER be prohibited, censured, or limited. I recognize and advocate that dissent and disagreeing are the keys to learning, compromise, and sustained liberty. While we have the right to dislike both things and other people, we do not have the right to hate, and I will uphold and protect the First Amendment rights of all individuals.
Community Health and Wellness - I passionately advocate for affordable and accessible healthcare. I believe that healthcare in the United States should be publicly free and universally equal in quality, with private companies serving only as non-profits to provide additional services. Profiting from health and human services should be ILLEGAL in the U.S.A. No one person should be able to attain a higher standard of care than another.
Technology and Innovation - I ferociously support digital literacy and access to technology and a Free Internet, while ensuring that advanced technologies adhere to strict ethical standards aligned with the Constitution and Bill of Rights, such as the right to privacy, security, and anonymity. I recognize the need for caution and oversight in areas like artificial intelligence, but believe that the adoption of automation will replace the laboriously mundane. This will bolster production capabilities and sustain economic growth with the creation of new unique businesses and opportunities, and individual ingenuity.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The Three Pillars Government. State versus Federal Rights, Laws and Legislation. Democracy versus Representation. Healthcare, Labor and Workforce, Civil Rights, National, Foreign, and Homeland Security, Technology and Innovation, Humanities and Human Services, Guided Free Enterprise and Capital Markets.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

It is an amalgam and mosaic of past and present heroes, revolutionaries, and truth-tellers, fighting for the good, for the happiness of the People, dispelling evil and pain.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Truth at almost all Costs. Decency. Open-mindedness. Integrity and Nobility. An understanding of pain, suffering, impact, and the dichotomy and difficulty of good vs. evil and the policies and laws we must enact to protect and defend the nation simultaneously, and the willingness to be a leader and teacher for the people and the citizens. Being a voice is not enough. And finally, most importantly, Life, Liberty, and Happiness for All, the Constitution, Freedom of Expression, and the Bill of Rights. All of these principles must power and guide an elected official's behaviors and actions.

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

Truth at almost all Costs. Decency. Open-mindedness. Integrity and Nobility. An understanding of pain, suffering, impact, and the dichotomy and difficulty of good vs. evil and the policies and laws we must enact to protect and defend the nation simultaneously, and the willingness to be a leader and teacher for the people and the citizens. Being a voice is not enough. And finally, most importantly, Life, Liberty, and Happiness for All, the Constitution, Freedom of Expression, and the Bill of Rights. All of these principles must power and guide an elected official's behaviors and actions.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I was the first Congressman who was joyful and happy and concurrently embodied the most honest, intelligent, and pragmatic approach to policy-making.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I haven't written it yet because I probably never will.

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

Superorcaman, the most powerful on land and in the sea. I could fly, but the air is meant for the heavens, for God to conquer and behold.

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

With or Without You by U2.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

(Not) Knowing where I belong or where to apply any God-given gifts and talents that I may possess. Not knowing my destiny in life, what I'm supposed to do, what my service was supposed to be.

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

The Representatives are supposed to a product of the people, the ones most closely aligned to the day-to-day realities, struggles, and livelihoods of the people that they represent back in their designed districts. A Representative does not need to be an expert subject matter, just an expert listener and member of their respective communities.

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

Not necessarily.

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

To reconcile whether the People can actually be happier and better off if the nation itself is no longer considered to be the greatest nation on earth. Said another way, is it possible to come in 2nd place if that leads to a better life for everyone involved? If the above is not true or undesirable, then the nation must insist on being the greatest nation while still remaining true to the principles and laws of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

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

Perhaps, but I could see 3 or 4 years as also being a good term. Perhaps for multi-representative states, there could be a tier/tranche for different term lengths for different Representatives.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

They should not exist in a simplistic, binary or black-and-white manner as is currently, and instead we should impose by law an increasingly higher number of required votes needed to elect say a President for a 3rd (4-year) term. As an example, if both 2/3 of the popular and electoral vote was in favor of a President, a 3rd term should be permissible.

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

It is a mixture, amalgam, a mosaic of past and present heroes.

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?

Too many, some too painful to repeat in a condensed manner without doing justice to the actual story and people involved.

Tell us your favorite joke.

My favorite book is the one I haven't written yet because I probably never will.

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

Yes. An easy example is switching policies every 10 years to allow certain rights for a certain time period, and then reverting, thus allowing both sides relief and the ability to have their voices heard. The notion of all-or-nothing or black-and-white or yes-and-now is an outdated concept -- compromise means sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but we can share and allow someone else's ideas to flourish. We cannot predict the future, therefore trying to listen to another political ideology's point of view could actually be best and could actually lead to a better outcome for the country and for the people, often unintuitively. Many great mistakes led to great discoveries and innovations. This is a key concept that is necessary to instill in the American people -- that doing something new, even if seemingly erroneous, could actually, magically, be the correct move. Additionally, many, if not all, decisions we make have both short-term and long-term impacts which themselves are interdependent and emergent, meaning the impacts are virtually impossible to predict so the real outcomes and how things will play out in reality are unknown. We must try to be open-minded, and sometimes, experiment on a small scale to learn, and keep learning on what good policy-making actually is, and that is being flexible, skeptical, and accepting.

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?

I would respectfully and with honor and privilege undertake all such financial and economic matters with utmost diligence.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Always remain skeptical. There are never enough questions because the outcomes of most policies are too numerous for anyone or any party to be confident about. I believe that all legislation should be geared to protect the one percent, the small few minorities who are protected as Individuals by the Constitution. Group-rights or group privileges should, in general, not be considered an appropriate or ethical lens or perspective when trying to investigate in the search for truth and the search for impact and the betterment and welfare of our society and citizenry.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I've endorsed myself, this is most important.

What committees interest you?

All of them.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

It should be 99% transparent and itemized for public consumption. 1% should be reserved for special projects that are matters of national security requiring Congressional oversight.

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 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.

Richard Barilla campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House New Jersey District 8	Candidacy Declared general	$5,600	$3,749
Grand total			$5,600	$3,749
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Election 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

External links

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Candidate

U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 28, 2025

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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)

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 28, 2025

[1]

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Richard Barilla

Contents

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 8

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

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