Buoyed by speculation that he was considering a run for Bob Menendez’s U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) raised a humungous $718,999 during the fourth quarter of 2023 and starts his campaign for re-election to a fourth term with a mammoth $904,758 warchest.
Van Drew brought in an incredible $393,462 in small-dollar contributions, about 55% of his total haul during the last three months of the year. He has raised a total of $1,676,924 so far in this cycle.
That gives Van Drew a huge cash advantage over the Democratic field in New Jersey’s 2nd district.
Businessman Joe Salerno raised $113,524 in the fourth quarter, bringing his total raised to $634,856 in his campaign to unseat Van Drew –including $403,277 of his own money made before October 1. He has $428,956 cash-on-hand.
Tim Alexander, seeking a rematch after losing to Van Drew by 19 percentage points in 2022, raised $29,474 in the last three months of 2023 and has $25,878 in the bank. A civil rights lawyer and former prosecutor, Alexander has raised $82,434 this cycle, including a $10,000 personal loan.
Carolyn Rush, who lost the 2022 Democratic primary to Alexander by 23 points, brought in just $2,711 in the fourth quarter and $9,897 in total. Her campaign is carrying a $5,000 debt. A fourth candidate, Brandon Lee Saffold, filed a campaign committee in May 2023 but hasn’t reported any fundraising.
“Congressman Van Drew has always been honored to have such strong grassroots support and is humbled by any amount people are able to contribute towards his re-election,” said Ron Filan, Van Drew’s campaign manager. “A median contribution of just $15 shows that this campaign is powered by tens of thousands of hard-working middle-class families all across the country who believe in Congressman Van Drew’s fight for a strong America and a strong South Jersey.”
Van Drew, elected to Congress in 2018 after seventeen years in the Senate and Assembly, is serving as chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in New Jersey.