Grossman capitalizing on negative national coverage

You Congressional candidate Seth Grossman is leveraging negative national coverage to his benefit in his race against State Sen. Jeff Van Drew.

Grossman, whose statements on diversity, among other things, have earned the former Atlantic County freeholder some less-than-favorable coverage in national outlets like CNN and the New York Times, has turned those statements into a fundraising tool.

Grossman said he has raised roughly $27,000 – almost twice what he raised during the second district’s Republican primary – since stories about statements he made at a campaign forum in April first broke in the Philadelphia Inquirer a little over two weeks ago.

“I think they made a strategic mistake by thinking they were going to knock me out at this moment,” Grossman said. “In fact, I really am puzzled as to why they are coming out with this stuff so early. If they really wanted to hurt me, they would have kept quiet and come out with it in mid-October.”

And that $27,000 doesn’t take into account earnings from a fundraiser Grossman held Wednesday night, where he hoped to raise $8,000, a figure he indicated he was on track to reach.

He hopes to raise another $15,000 in the next few days to reach a milestone that could encourage the state and national party to lend resources to his campaign.

While he has earned the support of Atlantic County Republican chairman Keith Davis and a number of the district’s former Republican candidates, the state party has largely steered clear of Grossman.

Doug Steinhardt, the Republican state chair, has condemned Grossman’s comments, saying they have no place in the Republican party, but stopped short of saying the state party wouldn’t back Grossman.

Steinhardt also said, and Grossman confirmed, that the latter has yet to request party support, though Grossman said such a request would come down the line.

“At the right time,” Grossman said of such a request. “I certainly don’t want to do anything to hurt any other candidates in the state, so there will come a time when I explain what my position is, which I think is a very reasonable position, and I think I’m a credible candidate.”

But, Republican leadership might be put off by how central an aspect of his campaign Grossman has made the statements, which many consider inflammatory.

During Wednesday’s fundraiser, which was attended by roughly 100 people, Grossman at points held a framed copy of the cover of the Philadelphia Daily News issue that depicted him as a caveman, showing it to attendees.

Mention of the article and its depiction of Grossman was an applause line in the candidate’s speech at the event.

Coupled with support for President Donald Trump, coverage of his statements was a central theme of the night, and Grossman even suggested that other Republican candidates in the state might be well served by adopting his no-holds-barred tone.

“Maybe other Republican candidates should do what I’m doing,” Grossman said. “State our positions clearly and not try to avoid offending people if what we are saying is true and what we are saying is necessary to benefit the country and the state. We have to say them regardless of the short-term political damage we might incur.”