John Hsu will challenge Frank Pallone once again in NJ-6 primary

John Hsu, a former Bernie Sanders delegate from Edison who now works as an activist with the progressive group Our Revolution, is back for another attempt at unseating Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch).

Hsu ran in last year’s Democratic primary for the 6th congressional district, but he garnered little notice for his campaign and lost to Pallone 84% to 16%. He had previously tried running for the same district in 2020, but dropped out long before the primary out of deference to several other anti-Pallone challengers already in the race.

This time, though, Hsu argued that he’ll have more opportunities to make himself known in the 6th district, saying that his 2024 campaign was a last-minute decision that left him little time to win over voters.

“Last time was an emergency run, because people in the district were very concerned about what was happening in Palestine, and they were looking for someone to champion that issue,” Hsu said. “With a two-to-three-month campaign, it’s hard to get that message out to everyone. We did meet a lot of people, and we did talk to a lot of people who were supportive. It was just too short of a timeframe.”

Hsu said that his campaign this cycle will be focused on a message of supporting Palestine, fighting for Medicare for All, and expanding affordability by taking on private equity and big monopolies. And the progressive but generally pro-Israel Pallone, he said, has let his constituents down on the first issue in particular.

“With everything that we see happening in Palestine right now, in Gaza, to not speak up on that – that is an indication that someone will not fight for you when it matters,” Hsu said.

During his 2024 campaign, Hsu affiliated himself with U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hamm; he had intended on running on Hamm’s ballot line before lines were abolished together. In this year’s gubernatorial race, Hsu supported Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

One other Democrat is already in the 6th district race against Pallone: Katie Bansil, an investment analyst and first-time candidate. When she entered the race early this year, Bansil framed her campaign around generational change and new leadership; she’s drawn relatively little attention since then, and fundraising reports put Pallone at an enormous financial advantage.

(Hsu, for his part, has raised a little over $9,000 so far this year, though he said he’s still in the process of ramping up his campaign. Bansil has raised $17,064, much of it from herself, and Pallone has raised $729,596 since the beginning of the year.)

Pallone, 73, has represented parts of Central Jersey in Congress since 1988, and he’s risen to become the top Democrat on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee; if Democrats retake the House majority in 2026, he’d be in line to chair the committee once again.

Over the course of the last four election cycles, Pallone has faced Democratic primary challengers thrice. He got 86% of the vote in 2018, 79% in 2020, and 86% again in 2024.