Guinchard files to run against Gottheimer in NJ-5

Mary Jo-Ann Guinchard, a two-time Republican candidate for Bergen County Commissioner, has filed paperwork to run against Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) in the 5th congressional district.

Guinchard, who did not respond to a request for comment, gives Republicans their first candidate in a district that they last held in 2016, when Gottheimer unseated Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage). The district, which includes most of Bergen County as well as parts of Passaic and Sussex Counties, was redrawn for the 2022 elections to be substantially more Democratic, and any Republican faces an uphill battle against Gottheimer.

Once the mayor of Tuxedo Park, New York, Guinchard now lives in Ridgewood and spent her career working as a professional singer. She first entered the New Jersey political scene in 2022, when she ran for county commissioner on GOP congressional candidate Frank Pallotta’s off-the-line ticket; Pallotta won his primary to take on Gottheimer, but Guinchard lost her commissioner primary to a party-backed slate of candidates.

In 2023, Guinchard ran once again for county commissioner, this time with the backing of the Bergen GOP. She and her running mate, Agninshalah Collins, won the primary uncontested, but went on to lose to incumbent Commissioners Joan Voss (D-Fort Lee) and Rafael Marte (D-Bergenfield) in the general election by a combined margin of 55%-45%, with Guinchard coming in third place.

Within the boundaries of the 5th district, Guinchard and Collins lost by 13 percentage points; for comparison, Gottheimer won the Bergen County portion of the 5th district by 18 points in his 55%-44% win against Pallotta last year. Guinchard’s relatively strong performance, though, may have had more to do with the strong wins of State Sens. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale) and Kristin Corrado (R-Totowa) at the top of the ticket.

Gottheimer, for his part, has $15.8 million in cash-on-hand and is heavily favored against whatever Republican ends up winning the nomination to take him on. No major political forecaster rates the 5th district as competitive, and Gottheimer is already looking past his next re-election fight towards the 2025 gubernatorial election instead.