IN MANY RESPECTS it’s about the money, and the quality of life it brings, so it’s clear why political influence has moved from Long Island and Bergen County to Monmouth County, although this region has always had a strong attraction for presidential candidates.
The sprawling, stunning and well-kept mansions, charming country clubs and hotels, horse farms, Monmouth Park, the host of a Triple Crown Winner, vineyards, beach clubs and recreational boating ranging from day sailors to 120-foot boats along the Two River area are just a sampling of the elegance that has become Monmouth County’s trademark.
“They do the rounds where they can raise money,” observed Colts Neck resident Juan Gutierrez, speaking of the appeal of Monmouth County for big marquee names on the presidential campaign.
Gutierrez and his wife Marta, hosted a fundraiser for Florida U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who is seeking the Republican 2016 nomination, Aug. 13 at their Colts Neck 50-acre horse farm. The couple had about 200 people attend their event at their sprawling estate. As to the final result, “We were happy with it,” Gutierrez said. “The campaign was very happy with it.”
The actual total amount raised is unknown at this point, Gutierrez said. Rubio is the latest of presidential hopefuls who are getting off the Garden State Parkway, making their way here and leaving more than satisfied.
In late June, Democrat Hillary Clinton joined rocker Jon Bon Jovi and possible gubernatorial hopeful and former ambassador to Germany Philip D. Murphy, as they and party loyalists showed their support at Red Bank’s Molly Pitcher Inn. Seats for that event were going for $1,000 to $2,700, according to the invitation posted on the candidate’s website at the time.
Gov. Chris Christie attended a fundraiser in his honor in Asbury Park earlier this month.
And Jeb Bush, who has been garnering dollars and support in New Jersey attended two functions in the state on July 23. One of them, hosted by state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos and prominent GOP fundraiser Lawrence Bathgate, was held at Navesink Country Club, Middletown.
Bathgate, a one-time RNC finance chairman and former Rumson resident, said the shore’s glow, at least for Republicans, goes back further than a generation. In the area, which he includes as both Monmouth and Ocean counties, “We share a large part of the coastline…many of us have properties in both counties…belong to clubs in both counties,” Bathgate said.
It has been seen as fertile ground for fundraising maybe as much as nearly 60 years, Bathgate said. Richard Nixon came to Ocean County in 1956. George H.W. Bush came in 1980, appearing at Bathgate’s Bayhead beach home.
Since 1992, at least, many major Republican candidates have made cameo appearances, along with elder Bush and his wife, Barbara, and Dick Cheney. George W. Bush appeared at Gutierrez’s home in support of two House candidates in 2008.
Mitt Romney appeared at a Bathgate-hosted event in 2012 in Lakewood, where Bathgate said supporters donated about $1 million. Later that same day, Rumson’s Lewis Eisenberg, the current RNC finance chair, hosted another event, earning Romney another nearly $1 million, according to Bathgate.
Why here?
“That’s where the money is,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, West Long Branch. “It’s been growing in frequency and in total dollars raised,” in this county.
Previously, influential and wealthy donors were more likely found in Bergen and Morris counties, in the bedroom communities close to New York City, Murray said.
For instance, hedge fund manager David Tepper, the wealthiest man in the state, lives in northern New Jersey and has regularly held fundraisers for his preferred Republican candidates.
But there has been a clear shift.
One of the reasons has been that for approximately the last 20 years, especially with the coming of the commuter ferry services, such consistently wealthy communities, like Rumson and Middletown’s Navesink River Road, became more readily accessible for Wall Street movers and shakers, adding to the already established families in the area.
“And they are the folks who are showing an interest in politics,” Murray said.
With the advent of political action committees (PACs) and “Super PACs,” a relatively small gathering of donors can raise a considerable amount of money for a candidate of either party given there are no limits to the amount of the contribution. Individual contributions to candidates remain limited to a maximum of $2,700 for primaries and another $2,700 for general elections.
Monmouth County is decidedly Republican in a blue state with New Jersey usually going with the GOP candidate for president as well as governor, with Christie regularly noting it was Monmouth and equally Republican Ocean counties that tipped the scales in his favor in 2009.
“We do have strong GOP turnout,” for the polls, in recruiting campaign volunteers and “we’re pretty good in terms of median relative income,” on the higher end of the state average, said Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman Shaun Golden.
“The thing about Monmouth County is that it’s not just concentrated in one party or the other” Murray pointed out, with big names like Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, who have been generous to their favored candidates. That has also been the case of Murphy, who had been finance chair for the Democratic National
Committee.
“Monmouth is interesting because of an eclectic group of people,” observed Vin Gopal, Monmouth County Democratic Committee chairman, with its mix of celebrity artists and successful business owners who are willing to share their largesse. In addition to the previously mentioned, Gopal added among the group are Clay Constantinou, Colts Neck, who had served as ambassador to Luxemburg during the Clinton administration, and Robert Sweeney, brother of New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney, another county resident.
Bon Jovi has hosted presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore at the rocker’s Navesink River Road home and a few years later in 2008 he welcomed candidate Barack Obama.
Gopal said the appeal is only going to increase, given the area’s relative proximity to New York and points north and south, as candidates hopscotch the northeast.
Gutierrez said when Rubio left Colts Neck, he returned to New York for an interview on Fox News, and then was off to the Hamptons, on Long Island and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for appearances.
“There are going to continue to be ties to this area,” Gopal said.
By John Burton
