Ramping up for possible gubernatorial bid, Gottheimer picks national political operative as new chief of staff

Signaling his interest in running for statewide office in New Jersey, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) has brought on a top Democratic strategist, Chelsea Brossard, to run his congressional office.

A former regional political director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Brossard led the efforts to elect Democratic House members in six western states. She managed digital persuasion campaigns for dozens of high-profile gubernatorial and congressional races across the U.S. during the 2020 midterms. She was a senior director at Wavelength Strategy, a Washington political consulting firm.

In 2018, Brossard managed Josh Harder’s nationally-watched campaign for Congress in Northern California, which resulted in the defeat of a four-term Republican incumbent in a district Democrats hadn’t won since 1992.   She had previously managed the congressional campaign of Rep. Sara Jacobs, a Democratic rising star, and Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read.

Brossard has also run state legislative campaigns and was the chief of staff for the Oregon State Legislature and the policy director for the Oregon state treasurer.

The move by Gottheimer mirrors one by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), who hired a Democratic operative with national experience, Alex Ball, to serve as her chief of staff.  Ball had managed Gottheimer’s 2016 campaign that toppled his ideological antipode, seven-term Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), and flipped New Jersey’s 5th district for the first time in 36 years.

The two North Jersey Members of Congress are widely viewed as potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2025 when Phil Murphy is term-limited.

Gottheimer was re-elected last year with a double-digit victory in a rematch with Republican Frank Pallotta.   A former Clinton White House speechwriter and Microsoft executive, the 47-year-old Gottheimer is known as the Human Fundraising Machine.  He raised over $8.1 million during the last cycle and has more than $13.7 million cash-on-hand.

Marina Pearce has left her job as Gottheimer’s campaign finance director to take on a national role as deputy finance director for the new minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries.  Gottheimer is a member of Jeffries’ inner circle.