After rally, Richter ties himself to Trump

House candidate David Richter moved to position himself closer to President Donald Trump after speaking at the president’s Wildwood Rally Tuesday.

“It was an honor to speak at President Trump’s rally last night. As I said last night, the President needs allies in Congress who will help him Keep America Great and stop the Democrats from trying to overturn the results of the 2016 election,” he said. “That is why I am running for Congress in the Third District and can’t wait to win this seat back from Andy Kim for our Republican Party.”

Once the frontrunner for the Republican nod in the second congressional district, Richter found himself the odd man out after Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) defected from the Democratic party.

In a deal engineered partly by former Gov. Chris Christie, Richter dropped his bid against Van Drew and is instead running for the nomination to take on Rep. Andy Kim (D-Marlton).

In that race, he faces former Burlington Freeholder Director Kate Gibbs, who has the line in her home county.

“I look forward to a spirited campaign against the current candidates in the Third District Republican primary and anyone else who wants to enter the race,” Richter said. “I am excited by the prospect of expressing our viewpoints at candidate forums, walking in parades together and scheduling as many debates as possible — after all, that is democracy in action. I love our political system, where elections are decided at the ballot box by the voters.”

Ocean County Republican Chairman Frank Holman said his position on a CD3 candidate might be swayed by an endorsement from Trump, though the president didn’t endorse Richter, or even mention his name, during his roughly hour-long speech Tuesday.

An endorsement in Ocean, which accounts for the majority of the district’s Republican voters, would put Richter in a strong position for the nomination.

It’s not yet clear if the informal administration support Richter has received from Trump’s administration is enough to sway Holman.

Richter on Wednesday announced former Ocean County GOP executive director Tom Bonfonti to manage his campaign.

Bonfonti was political director for Rep. Tom MacArthur’s 2016 campaign.

“I’m excited to add Tom to our team,” Richter said. “Together with Bill Stepien, we are putting together the best team possible to beat the Democrats in November.”

“I could not be prouder to be standing with President Trump last night,” Richter said. “And I cannot be prouder to be working every day to win this seat back for our Republican Party in the Third District.”