Thomas Cannavo

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

Thomas Cannavo

Green Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Pennsville Memorial High School

Bachelor's

Rutgers College, 1982

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Profession

Retired

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Thomas Cannavo (Green Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Biography

Thomas Cannavo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received a high school diploma from Pennsville Memorial High School and later earned a bachelor's degree from Rutgers College in 1982. His career experience includes working as a prosecutor and defense attorney for 35 years before retiring. He has served as the secretary of the Green Party of New Jersey.

Elections

2024

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)

General election

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

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated Joe Salerno and Thomas Cannavo in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (R)	58.1	215,946
		Joe Salerno (D)	41.2	153,117
		Thomas Cannavo (G)	0.7	2,557

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 371,620
= 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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Democratic primary election

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

Joe Salerno defeated Tim Alexander, Carolyn Rush, and Rodney A. Dean Sr. in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Salerno	38.3	14,057
		Tim Alexander	37.1	13,613
		Carolyn Rush	21.3	7,836
		Rodney A. Dean Sr.	3.4	1,235

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,741
= 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

• Brandon Saffold (D)

Republican primary election

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

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	100.0	41,749

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,749
= 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 Cannavo in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Thomas Cannavo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cannavo'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.

I am a retired prosecutor and defense attorney running in the 2nd District of New Jersey where I grew up and worked in all three branches of government. I grew up in Salem County and graduated from Pennsville Memorial High School in 1978. I graduated from Rutgers College in 1982 with a degree in Political Science and Philosophy. I attended Rutgers-Camden Law School from 1982 to 1985 and passed the bar in 1985. I worked as a law clerk, assistant prosecutor and deputy attorney general for 25 years. This is my first time running for office, as there is an urgent need for ordinary people to represent the needs of the 99% and not the corporate oligarchs who have usurped our government and threaten our democracy. I joined the Green Party in 2010 when I realized that the current duopoly of the two major parties were only serving the interests of their donors. My campaign will highlight the need to elevate the standard of living of all residents in my district and across the country. This entails universal single payer healthcare in the form of Improved Medicare for All embodied in pending legislation. Ending medical debt and student debt, along with free tuition for higher education and housing as a right are also necessary to improve the standard of living and quality of life for Americans. America must also establish its place as a moral leader in the world by opposing genocide and enacting foreign policy based on human rights, international law and diplomacy.

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?

• We must pass Improved Medicare for All as healthcare is a human right with no one left behind
• We must transition quickly from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy to slow the harmful effects of climate change and strengthen the economy.
• We can shift resources from war spending to human needs by governing with diplomacy human rights and international law. Trade goods and services and not weapons of destruction.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about enacting a sane and compassionate healthcare system. Too many needlessly die as a result of our current barbaric and profit-driven healthcare system. National Improved Medicare for All is the best remedy, morally and economically.

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

Honesty and integrity are important and necessary characteristics of any democratically elected and accountable public servant. This is difficult when corporate and special interest money are taken. The Green Party takes no such money. To reform our politics and restore representative democracy, we must end corporate dominance and control of our officials and institute other electoral reforms such as ranked choice voting so that voting for the lesser evil is not a good option.

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

I was thirteen years of age when I watched the Watergate Hearings that summer. I was shocked and taken aback by the corruption at the highest levels of our government. I decided then to go to Law School and eventually run for Congress to bring some integrity to our governmental institutions. Becoming a career prosecutor allowed me to serve the public, but I was not permitted to run for office. Thus, my late start in running for office

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Endorsed so far by Our Revolution of Ocean County, New Jersey

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

Cannavo’s campaign website stated the following:

“	ISSUES AND PRIORITIES: I am running for Congress because we need ordinary people to step up to bring sanity back to Washington and to enact laws and policies which benefit the ordinary 99% and not just the 1% who buy politicians and corrupt our political system. I support the platform of the Green Party of the United States with emphasis on the following: Universal Single Payer Healthcare- Expanded and Improved Medicare for All as in Pending Bills S-1655 and HR-3421; End Medical Debt Environment- Enact a Real Green New Deal Ending Fossil Fuel Use and Subsidies while Promoting Sustainable Alternative and Renewable Forms of Energy Democracy- Dump the Corruption, Enact Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to Provide a Real Choice; Take Corporate Money Out of Politics and Enhance Voting Rights End Houselessness; Enact Affordable Housing Laws; Low Interest Rates for Individual Home Buyers Education- No Tuition for Vocational and Higher Education; End Student Debt Foreign Policy based on Domestic and International Law, Diplomacy and Human Rights, End Genocide and Unnecessary War Spending	”
—Thomas Cannavo’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Thomas Cannavo campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House New Jersey District 2	Lost 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

2024 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

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)