Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), the pro-Trump South Jersey Republican congressman who is closer with the former president than just about anyone else in New Jersey, has won re-election to the 2nd congressional district, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 9:41 p.m., Van Drew leads his Democratic opponent, tech entrepreneur Joe Salerno, 58% to 42% in a district that was highly competitive a few years ago but which has fallen off both parties’ radars in recent cycles.
Van Drew was first elected to Congress as a Democrat, flipping a GOP-held seat in 2018 before famously defecting to Republicans less than a year later out of frustration with their impeachment efforts against Donald Trump. Van Drew’s former party spent millions of dollars trying to take him down in 2020, but he beat Democratic nominee Amy Kennedy by a solid margin, dashing most Democrats’ hopes of ever defeating him.
Salerno, who had never run for office before this year, tried to change that perception. After winning a close Democratic primary against 2022 nominee Tim Alexander, Salerno hit Van Drew hard over his abortion stance and his vote against certifying the 2020 election results; thanks in part to self-funding, he raised more than $1.5 million for his campaign, and touted an internal poll that he said showed Van Drew was within striking distance.
But in a conservative-leaning district, neither party viewed Van Drew as being in danger, and Salerno was left to fend for himself by national and state Democrats. Given Van Drew’s solid margin as things stand right now, that seems to have been the right call.
Van Drew has expressed interest in higher office in the past, floating the idea of running for U.S. Senate last year after Senator Bob Menendez was indicted (and even briefly making Trump’s list of possible vice presidential contenders back in 2022).
The real role Van Drew has embraced, however, is being Trump’s right-hand man in New Jersey, serving as his campaign chairman in the state this year. If Trump wins the presidency tonight, Van Drew could play a major role in choosing the next U.S. Attorney from New Jersey, and could even potentially get a role in Trump’s administration himself.