Lieberman, No Labels endorse Gottheimer

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman and No Labels, one of the organization’s co-chairs, endorsed Rep. Josh Gottheimer on Tuesday.

“To me, he’s the model of what an elected official member of congress should be now, which is that he does what he thinks is right and he knows that to get something done you need to work with people in the other party,” Lieberman said. “And he does.”

The goals of Lieberman’s group closely align with those of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of more than 40 House members — with equal parts belonging to both major parties — intending to break gridlock in Washington.

Gottheimer co-chairs the caucus along with New York Republican Rep. Tom Reed.

The caucus has been a major part of Gottheimer’s tenure in Congress, and he’s frequently referenced the caucus and his bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail.

Lieberman, a former vice-presidential candidate is something of an authority on the subject of bipartisanship. The former Connecticut senator has more than once faced fire from fellow Democrats for crossing party lines.

He said No Labels, a 501c4 non-profit group, is putting some funds behind Gottheimer’s reelection campaign, as it did when he won his first term over former Rep. Scott Garrett in 2016.

“The best times of Congress, from the beginning, including at the constitutional convention, were when people negotiated compromise, settled for less than 100% but got a lot more than they otherwise would,” Lieberman said.