Utter Confusion Among NJ GOP Candidates on Election

Four Republicans are vying in a primary to represent a section of southern New Jersey in Congress, but none of them submitted papers to run in a special election to fill the seat from November through January, another quirk of an unusual election that has already allowed donors to contribute extra cash.

Two of the campaigns said they were unaware that running in the special election required a separate set of petitions — in fact, one candidate said he didn’t know about the special election at all until a reporter asked about it on Friday.

“That’s just blowing my mind,” said Lee Lucas. “I don’t get it.”

The seat, representing most of Camden and Gloucester Counties, was represented from 1990 until earlier this year by Rep. Rob Andrews. The Democrat resigned from Congress abruptly in February.

Andrews and most of the Democratic establishment in the Democrat-dominated district are supporting state Sen. Donald Norcross, the brother of powerbroker George E. Norcross III, an insurance executive and majority owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer. But his support did not dissuade other candidates from entering the race. Two other Democrats — Frank Broomell and Frank Minor — and four Republicans also filed to run.

All the Democrats submitted petitions to run in the special election. None of the Republicans did.

“One thing that’s perplexing to us is 100 percent of the Democratic candidates were aware of it and 100 percent of the Republicans were not,” said Keith Walker, who is working for the campaign of Republican Garry Cobb.

The campaign says Cobb will mount a write-in campaign in the June 3 primary and hopes to be on the Nov. 4 ballot for both elections.

Lucas said Friday that he wasn’t concerned: The special election is for the right to serve for only a couple of months.

Besides the petition confusion, the special election means each donor can give twice as much to candidates as they would normally be allowed to. With four separate elections, a contributor can give a candidate in the election a total of $10,400 this year.

This article appeared in print on page 17 of the April 9th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.