Bartlett raises more than $350,000 in first days of NJ-11 campaign

Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett (D-Wayne) announced today that his campaign for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district has raised more than $350,000 since he entered the race last week, a huge sum that will be critical in the district’s fast-moving Democratic primary.

Bartlett’s cash-on-hand total is even higher at $517,000; that’s because he ran for Congress once before, in 2018, and ended that campaign with close to $200,000 still left over. A small amount of his total haul, $30,000, was self-funded.

“I am incredibly grateful for the overwhelming wave of support our campaign has received in our first five days,” Bartlett said in a statement. “This outpouring from hundreds of donors shows that New Jersey families are ready for a representative who focuses on public service over self-service, and who has a record of fighting and winning on the issues that matter to New Jerseyans.”

Bartlett is one of a large and growing number of Democrats running for the 11th district, which is currently held by Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and which will soon be filled in an as-yet unscheduled special election.

Two of those Democrats, Morris Township Committeeman/former Mayor Jeff Grayzel and Obama administration alum Cammie Croft, entered the race before Sherrill was elected governor, and have already raised quite a bit of money: Grayzel raised $340,000, though $100,000 of that was self-funded, and Croft raised $188,000.

Two other top contenders, former 7th district Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (D-Montclair), launched their own campaigns last week.