Entrance of Two New Candidates Guarantees NJ GOP Long, Messy Primary

With Doug Steinhardt’s exit last week, the New Jersey GOP thought they were going to avoid a messy primary. No dice. The GOP primary is getting quite crowded, with six candidates now vying it out for the nomination.

The race is turning into a revolving door of Trump lackeys. Last week, Trump supporter Doug Steinhardt left the race, but over the weekend, more candidates jumped in, including failed candidate Brian Levine, who has still refused to say whether he attended Trump’s superspreader fundraiser in Bedminster.

Levine and Ocean County Commissioner Joe Vicari join former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and perennial candidates Joseph Rudy Rullo and Hirsh Singh. All three of the already-declared candidates refused to condemn Trump’s violent rhetoric and lies which led to the deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol. Ciattarelli echoed Trump’s comments after Charlottesville, saying leaders from “both parties” share responsibility for the attack and “no one is innocent here.”

With all these Trump apologists running around, we don’t know how we’re going to tell them all apart.

“Just when the NJ GOP thought they were out of the woods – two new candidates guaranteed them a messy primary,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Christina Amestoy. “Once again, Jack Ciattarelli faces competition for Donald Trump’s base in New Jersey, so all six candidates will have to prove who is the most conservative. Grab your popcorn because this show’s just getting started.”