Winder, Mullock are neck-and-neck in NJ-2 Dem fundraising

From a financial standpoint, the race for the Democratic nomination in New Jersey’s Republican-leaning 2nd district is a neck-and-neck contest between former USAID official Bayly Winder and Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock.

Winder, who’s been running since last summer, has raised $643,021 for his campaign overall and $191,176 in the most recent quarter; he ended the 1st quarter with $246,909 on-hand.

Mullock entered the race much more recently and quickly raised $274,340, but $110,000 of that was self-funded, so it may be less sustainable than Winder’s more regular fundraising hauls. He had $250,091 still on-hand.

A third candidate, civil rights attorney Tim Alexander, has struggled with fundraising ever since his first campaign for Congress in 2022, and that hasn’t changed; he raised $29,795 in the 1st quarter and has just $6,812 left to spend. Then again, Alexander nearly won a competitive Democratic primary in 2024 without much money, and he also has party support in four of the district’s six counties, so he can’t be counted out.

Rounding out the Democratic field is Terri Reese, who has raised $11,931 for her campaign in total.

The man they’re all trying to beat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), has continued to build up his financial advantage, raising $357,969 in the 1st quarter and finishing with $1,350,987 still in his account.