Anti-abortion leader Randall Terry ends independent House bid in NJ-7

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry has dropped his independent bid for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district.

The founder of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and the Constitution Party’s nominee for president two years ago submitted petitions to run under the slogan “Life Truth Justice” in New Jersey’s 7th district.  He planned to challenge Republican Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) and Democrat Rebecca Bennett in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the U.S.

Terry, in a short phone call with the New Jersey Globe, confirmed his intent to exit the race.

Republicans, concerned that a candidate like Terry with a national following could siphon critical votes away from Kean, challenged Terry’s nominating petitions.  A judge was scheduled to hear the challenge tomorrow.

Terry lives in Ellendale, Tennessee.  Last week, he also filed as an independent Congressional candidate in Hawaii.

The attorney for the New Jersey Republican State Committee, Jason Sena, argued that Terry was statutorily barred from running in NJ-7 because he filed to run in multiple districts in the same election.  He accused Terry of filing a false oath.

“I clearly did not read the law correctly,” Terry said in an email.

Sena also said Terry received an insufficient number of signatures on his nominating petitions.

Terry’s wife, Terrisa Bukovinac – whom New Jersey voters may remember as the only name besides Joe Biden who appeared on their 2024 Democratic presidential ballots – is running in the 9th district, where Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) faces GOP nominee Rosie Pino. Bukovinac, a self-described “progressive pro-life atheist,” filed with the slogan “Save Our Babies.”

An administrative law judge will hear a challenge to her petitions tomorrow.  Her challenge is coming from the campaign of her GOP opponent, Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino.