Pallotta announces challenge to Gottheimer

Frank Pallotta, a former investment banker with the ability to self-fund, announced that he will challenge Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) in New Jersey’s 5th district next year.

“As I’ve talked to my friends and neighbors over the past few months, one thing has become clear to me – Washington, DC is broken,” Pallotta said.  “Josh Gottheimer had his chance and failed. This country has presented me and my family with extraordinary opportunities and I am humbled to announce my candidacy for Congress.”

The Mahwah businessman becomes the second Republican to enter the race to take on Gottheimer, a two-term incumbent in a district that is almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.  Former Cresskill councilman John McCann, who ran against Gottheimer in 2018, has already announced his plan to seek a rematch.

Pallotta helped build Morgan Stanley’s global mortgage franchise to over 2,000 employees before he retired in 2008.  He later co-founded a New Jersey-based startup to help homeowners affected by the mortgage crisis that helped him win a Time Magazine award for one of the 50 best inventions of 2010.

Gottheimer, known as the Human Fundraising Machine, had a total haul of $830,063 during the first three months of 2019.  He now has $4.91 million cash-on-hand.