Mehta to get Hudson GOP endorsement

Hudson County Republicans are expected to endorse Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, giving him his eighth organization line in his bid to unseat Cory Booker, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

Mehta will pick up the backing of Jose Arango, the Hudson GOP chairman.

Arango had been supporting Stuart Meissner, who dropped out of the race earlier this month.

A former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official, Mehta is undefeated in his pursuit of organization lines.  He’s won contests in Burlington, Camden, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Somerset and Union  counties.

Mehta also won the endorsement of the Ocean County Republican Screening Committee last week and is the favorite to win their organization line at March 4 GOP convention.

He has become the front-runner for a nomination that comes with low expectations for success.  New Jersey Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate seat since 1972 and Democrats have won all sixteen Senate races since then.

So far, none of the other three Senate candidates – Hirsh Singh, Tricia Flanagan and Natalie Rivera – have won any organization lines.

Gary Rich, a former Monmouth County freeholder, dropped out of the race and has endorsed Flanagan.

Candidates for Congress

Jason Mushnick, a Jersey City attorney, appears to have the backing of Hudson County Republicans to challenge Rep. Albio Sires (D-West New York) in New Jersey’s 8th district.

The county GOP organization is going with Mushnick over David Winkler, a retired Army and Marine combat veteran who headed Wings for Warriors, a veterans advocacy group.

Mushnick ran for the Assembly last year against incumbents Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D-Bayonne) and Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City), losing by a 4-1 margin.

Sires, a former Assembly Speaker and West New York mayor, is seeking his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He was re-elected with 77% in 2017 and 78% in 2018.

In the 10th district, Agha M. Khan is seeking a rematch against Rep. Donald Payne. Jr. (D-Newark).    Payne defeated him in 2018 by an 88%-10% margin.