Top Van Drew staffer quits

Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s number two staffer has resigned, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

Two sources have confirmed that Javier Gamboa quit his job as Van Drew’s deputy chief of staff and legislative director after learning that his boss was switching to the Republican Party.

Gamboa declined to discuss anything.

“Thank you for calling.  Don’t want to talk,” Gamboa told the Globe before quickly hanging up.

It’s no surprise that Gamboa is bailing.

A veteran Democratic Capitol Hill staffer and political operative, Gamboa took a job with Van Drew in January.

He served as Tampa Bay regional political director of the Florida Democratic Party during the 2016 campaign and has worked for two Democratic congresswomen and spent four years as an aide to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), according to Gamboa’s LinkedIn page.

Van Drew is widely expected to seek re-election as a Republican after facing mounting criticism from New Jersey Democrats for opposing the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Van Drew’s longtime chief of staff, Allison Murphy, resigned her post as the Democratic State Committeewoman from Cape May County this morning.