The candidate list is set and the primary is less than two months away: any New Jersey congressional candidate who wants a spot on November’s general election ballot had better be fundraising for it.
Some races, like the Democratic primaries for the 7th and 12th districts, are drawing huge amounts of campaign cash. Others, like the GOP contests for the 9th district and the U.S. Senate, not so much. Money isn’t everything, but in primaries where voters don’t know much about any of the candidates, it’s what stands between being a serious contender and an also-ran.
Here’s a look at New Jersey fundraising in the 1st quarter of 2026, which covers the period from January 1 through March 31. Click here for a web version of the New Jersey Globe’s fundraising tracker, or scroll to the bottom of this article for a PDF version.
U.S. Senate (2026): See here for a full breakdown of U.S. Senate fundraising numbers.
1st district: Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) and Republican Damon Galdo are destined for a general election matchup after being unopposed in their respective primaries, but one is raising a bit more money than the other in the solidly blue district: Norcross raised $522,892 in the 1st quarter, Galdo raised $500.
2nd district: See here for a full breakdown of 2nd district fundraising numbers.
3rd district: The Republican primary to take on Rep. Herb Conaway (D-Delran) remains a murky affair: Jason Cullen, the pick of the Burlington GOP, raised $35,159 in the 1st quarter; Michael McGuire, the endorsee of Republicans in Monmouth and Mercer, raised $54,660; and Justin Barbera, the preferred choice of no local organizations, has not filed any reports.
Conaway, for his part, is probably safe for re-election and raised $100,671 in the 1st quarter; he ended the quarter with $374,600 on-hand.
4th district: Representing the reddest district in New Jersey and running without any GOP primary challengers, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) raised $125,019 in the 1st quarter and has $455,996 on-hand.
The Democratic frontrunner to challenge him, Rachel Peace, raised $14,770 last quarter; her primary opponent, John Blake, hasn’t filed fundraising reports.
5th district: Long ago dubbed the Human Fundraising Machine, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) had a second consecutive quarter raising more than a million dollars – $1,004,716, to be exact – with $11,174,062 in his warchest. Despite representing a district that’s competitive on paper, Gottheimer has only one opponent this year, Republican Sean Kirrane, who raised $19,105 in the 1st quarter.
6th district: Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) faces two Democratic primary challengers this year who seem to be unaware of FEC deadlines: both John Hsu and Katie Bansil have raised tens of thousands of dollars in past quarters, but neither has filed a Q1 report yet.
As for Pallone, the potential soon-to-be chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee raised $553,373 in the 1st quarter and has $3,421,219 in the bank. The one Republican candidate for the seat, Hillary Herzig, raised just $1,972.
7th district: See here for a full breakdown of 7th district fundraising numbers.
8th district: In a sharp contrast to the uber-expensive 8th district contest of two years ago, the primary matchup between Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) and former Jersey City school board president Mussab Ali hasn’t become a fundraising bonanza, at least so far.
Menendez raised $514,668 in the 1st quarter and has $1,024,315 on-hand to defend himself; Ali, who entered the race during the quarter, has raised $181,496 and has $97,902 left to spend.
9th district: See here for a full breakdown of 9th district fundraising numbers.
10th district: As legal proceedings over federal assault charges filed against her last year continue to drag on, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) raised $223,892 last quarter and has $736,714 in the bank.
Most of that will be needed for legal fees rather than for winning re-election in the 10th district, a majority-Black district that’s among the nation’s bluest; both McIver’s Democratic primary opponent, Lawrence Poster, and her GOP general election foe, Carmen Bucco, have yet to file a fundraising report.
11th district: Fresh off a landslide victory in last night’s special election, Rep.-elect Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) is in good financial shape headed into the race for a full term.
The special election skewed the reporting timelines, but Mejia raised $727,246 in the period between January 17 and March 31, while Republican foe Joe Hathaway raised $264,015. Mejia also had a huge cash on-hand advantage, at least as of two weeks ago: $421,176 to Hathaway’s $52,457.
As for the three Democrats who want to deny Mejia renomination to a full term, Joseph Lewis gave himself a $100,000 loan that accounted for virtually all of his fundraising; Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland, who finished in sixth place in the February special primary, raised $18,744 but spent nearly all of it; and former Morristown Mayor and perennial candidate Donald Cresitello hasn’t filed with the FEC at all.
12th district: See here for a full breakdown of 12th district fundraising numbers.
U.S. Senate (2030): Still more than four years away from having to seek re-election, Senator Andy Kim raised $179,235 in Q1 and has $1,081,723 on-hand.
2026 cycle fundraising - Q1 2026 (1)