Kiley raises $205k for challenge to Pallone

A grandmother of 13 challenging House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-Long Branch) in New Jersey’s 6th district has raised $205,000 since January.

Sue Kiley, a Monmouth County commissioner and former Hazlet mayor, is potentially Pallone’s strongest challenger in more than a decade.

The former nurse and her husband, a retired police officer, matched the first $100,000 with a personal contribution – not an easy donation from a working class family.

“Pallone is not invincible. The voters of the 6th congressional district are not left wing ideologues.  They are common sense, hardworking people who value their families and believe in the exceptional promise of America. This year we will elect a woman who represents the values and dreams of the residents of the district and we will restore common sense and normalcy to Congress.”

She has become the front-runner for the Republican primary after securing organization lines in Monmouth and Middlesex counties.  Kiley faces Rik Mehta, the 2020 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, in the June 7 GOP primary.

A third Republican, Tom Toomey, has generated little excitement or support for his bid to take on Pallone.  Toomey is on his second House race of this cycle, after initially spending months in an unsuccessful bid for party support to challenge Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) in a North Jersey district.

“I am humbled by and grateful for the confidence and trust my supporters have demonstrated by investing in this campaign,” said Kiley. “

Mehta and Toomey have not yet announced their first quarter fundraising numbers.

“If we have learned anything about Frank Pallone in the last two years, we learned that he is not a leader.  He is an enabler,” Kiley stated.  “Pallone has stood by while the radical fringe left of his party has opened our borders, brought violence and deadly drugs into our communities, unleashed rampant inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, and brought the world to the brink of World War III.”