CNN Projection: Sen. Booker wins reelection in New Jersey
Democrat Amy Kennedy is challenging Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, hoping to pick up New Jersey’s House seat.
Who are the candidates
Challenger: Democrat Amy Kennedy
- Kennedy is a former schoolteacher born and is married to former Rep. Patrick Kennedy – a son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
- She is currently education director of The Kennedy Forum.
Incumbent: Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew
Why this race is interesting
Van Drew famously switched parties from Democrat to GOP, during Trump’s impeachment. Van Drew, who voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump, was struggling in New Jersey politics as a Democrat. He already was facing a tough reelection in his New Jersey district; becoming a Republican would allow him to avoid a Democratic primary.
During that switch, Van Drew pledged his “undying support” to President Trump. Kennedy has said that was the moment she decided to run.
How people feel about the President will play a big role in this race. The President won this district in 2016 by 5 points; in January, when Trump traveled there for a victory-lap rally with Van Drew, thousands of supporters lined up in the frigid cold.
Now, during the pandemic that has costs thousands of people their jobs, Trump’s endorsement might not be enough, if it’s a net positive at all — and as the President lags in the polls with Election Day nearing, Van Drew, a former mayor and state lawmaker, is trying to remind voters of his own brand, cultivated over two decades in public service, of an independent-minded politician unconcerned with party labels.
Additionally, some Democratic voters and party leaders who supported Van Drew two years ago feel betrayed after he switched parties just one year after they sent him to Washington.
