MIDDLETOWN – New Jersey is in the game of presidential politics, flush with money and more visiting candidates, along with our homegrown version.
The latest big political name slated to visit the Garden State in the coming weeks will be Republican hopeful and former Florida governor Jeb Bush who will be attending two events on July 23, one at the Navesink Country Club and another in Short Hills later than evening.
“Historically, it’s been money,” that draws the candidates here, observed John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, at Rutgers University. “New Jersey is one of the wealthiest states,” he said, explaining that while the state traditionally leans blue, there are still an awful lot of Republicans and people who want to contribute.
Another factor is “They want to be in the New York and Philadelphia market,” some of the largest markets in the country, Weingart said, “and all that attention.”
The Middletown event will be held at the Navesink Country Club, 50 Luffburrow Lane. The Short Hills event is scheduled to be held at the home of Bill Cohen, who is listed as a co-chair for the evening’s events.
Among the event’s co-chairs include state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos (R-13) and his wife, Susan. Kyrillos previously had been a close confidante of Gov. Chris Christie – who is also seeking the party’s nod to be the 2016 candidate. Also as a co-chair is prominent GOP fundraiser Lawrence Bathgate, a Lakewood lawyer who has been the finance chair for the Republican National Committee.
Kyrillos’ office said the senator wouldn’t be available to comment on the events.
But Bathgate this week said he’s supporting Bush because he’s the “most outstanding candidate and quite frankly the most qualified person to be our next president.”
To help secure Bush’s chances in the primary and general 2016 elections, Bathgate said “We were able to put together a blue ribbon group of people” from Monmouth and Ocean counties for the Middletown event and from Essex and Morris counties for the Short Hills.
Bathgate said, “We expect several hundred people, that’s safe to say,” attending the gatherings.
As to how much could be raised for the candidate, Bathgate said with a few hundred attendees and the maximum individual contribution at $2,700, “Do the math.”
The Bush camp didn’t respond to emails seeking comment.
A fundraiser for Christie is planned for the Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Lakewood, for July 22, the evening before Bush appearance in the state.
The Christie camp did not respond to emails seeking comment, either.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton attended her own fundraiser in Red Bank’s Molly Pitcher Inn on June 29, hosted by Rocker and Middletown resident Jon Bon Jovi, with media reports indicated she took home about $500,000.
GOP hopeful Marco Rubio, U.S. senator from Florida, will be in Monmouth County on Aug. 13 at a fundraiser hosted by Juan and Marta Gutierrez in their Colts Neck home.
These events don’t bode well for Christie’s chances and for the governor’s own fundraising efforts in his own backyard, Weingart suspected. “It’s noteworthy that there are some prominent Republicans in the state, who were in some cases, major supporters of his (Christie’s) gubernatorial campaign, have gone in other directions for the presidency,” he said. Traditionally, high elected officials, such as a governor, seeking the presidency “try to have as close to solidarity as they can,” among big names in their own party,” Weingart said.
New Jersey hasn’t gone for a Republican president since 1988, supporting George H.W. Bush. But Republicans haven’t always written off the state and its 14 electoral votes and shouldn’t, as some past elections have shown “a glimmer of possibility” in swaying New Jersey voters, Weingart noted.
