Gottheimer has Fezzik-esque $15.1 million warchest after $1.2 million Q2 haul

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), long dubbed the Human Fundraising Machine for his unerring ability to raise huge sums of campaign cash, is now sitting on a $15.1 million warchest after raising $1.2 million during the 2nd quarter of 2023.

The quarterly report marks what appears to be Gottheimer’s highest-ever cash-on-hand total, eclipsing $15 million for the first time and beating the $14 million warchest he amassed in 2022 while running for re-election against Republican Frank Pallotta.

Gottheimer won that contest 55%-44% – and he only had to spend a fraction of his money to do it, since Pallotta failed to raise much money of his own. It was Gottheimer’s fourth general election victory in the Bergen County-based 5th congressional district, and the first under the district’s new lines, which made the seat substantially more Democratic.

Thanks in large part to those new lines, Gottheimer is viewed as safe for re-election in 2024; no notable Republicans have stepped up to take him on yet, and national forecasters aren’t treating the race as competitive.

But Gottheimer may still use up quite a bit of his money in 2024 with an entirely different campaign in mind: the 2025 gubernatorial race. Though his massive congressional warchest won’t be directly transferable into a gubernatorial campaign account, Gottheimer can still spend big on his congressional re-election campaign in order to blanket the airwaves with ads and drive up his name recognition.

The congressman has also lately been using his fundraising prowess to aid other New Jersey Democrats; last month, a Gottheimer-led fundraiser brought in $100,000 for vulnerable Democratic state senators.