Prijten drops challenge to Sherrill

Reinier Prijten says he will not challenge Mikie Sherrill for Congress in 2020.

“There have been some recent positive changes in my family that I need to dedicate my time to. I will therefore not run for Congress in NJ-11 in 2020,” Prijten said today.

Prijten has had problems launching his campaign since announcing his candidacy last month and had generated little enthusiasm among Republican leaders for his fledgling campaign.

He acknowledged a few days after entering the race that Prijten has never lived in New Jersey.  A spokesman said that he was living in California and was planning to move to Morristown in May.   Before moving to the West Coast, Prijten had lived in New York City and Westchester, records show.

Prijten faced some criticism for a racially-charged blog post in 2010 that suggested the United States’ Visa Waiver Program made the country vulnerable to terrorism because it could also be used by citizens of some European countries who also hold a passport from a majority-Muslim nation.  He also missed voting in five of nine general elections since his naturalization in 2009.

A manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has worked as a vice president at JP Morgan and interned in the offices of two U.S. Senators.