One of the featured speakers at the New Jersey GOP’s annual Statewide Leadership Summit in Atlantic City this weekend is a former Democratic assemblyman, Jamel Holley.
“I am not switching parties. I am a Democrat,” Holley told the New Jersey Globe. “They invited me to talk about bipartisanship. I’m honored that they invited me.”
Holley will share the stage at a Red Wave Luncheon on Saturday with Jim McLaughlin, one of President Donald Trump’s pollsters.
Holley is a political advisor to a high-profile Democrat who serves in Trump’s cabinet: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Holley and Kennedy are longtime friends who bonded over their opposition to legislation in New Jersey that proposed eliminating a religious exemption for school vaccinations.
He spoke at the kickoff for Kennedy’s bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination against Joe Biden, and remained a Kennedy supporter when he switched his candidacy to an independent run.
Now the Roselle Democratic municipal vice chairman, Holley said he wants to spread a message of bipartisanship.
“I had more bills signed by (Chris) Christie than (Phil) Murphy,” he said. “I can talk about to work with a Republican administration in Washington and a Democratic legislature in Trenton.”
There is some speculation that Holley might turn up on a list of potential lieutenant governor candidates if Jack Ciattarelli wins the GOP gubernatorial primary.
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