VoteVets begins $300k pro-Beecher ad campaign

Former Army paratrooper Zach Beecher is the latest Democratic candidate in the 11th district special election to get some outside help, with veterans-focused group VoteVets beginning a $300,000 ad campaign to boost him today.

VoteVets, which endorsed Beecher earlier this month, said the ad will “run across a dozen cable networks” through the February 5 Democratic primary election. The ad itself touts Beecher’s military background and his commitment to fighting President Donald Trump, similar messaging to what Beecher’s campaign has been putting out.

This isn’t the first time VoteVets has used its considerable financial might to weigh in on a New Jersey race. Now-Rep. Herb Conaway (D-Delran) got the group’s support in his successful 2024 primary campaign for an open seat, and the group has long been allied with Gov. Mikie Sherrill, whose departure from the 11th district triggered the special election in which Beecher is now running.

The spending also complements Beecher’s own robust campaign operation, which has raised more money than all but two of his opponents, per fundraising reports filed over the weekend. Beecher, however, still remains an underdog against several of the race’s better-known contenders.

One of those contenders, Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way, has benefited from around $1.8 million in independent expenditures from two outside PACs; another, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, has been on the receiving end of $1.4 million in attacks from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. All in all, the race is likely to blow past prior records for outside spending in a New Jersey House primary.

Ad script
Narrator: “Jersey has a track record of hiring vets to get the job done. Like Zach Beecher: paratrooper, problem-solver. And we’ve sure got problems to solve. Jersey families are being crushed at the check-out and every time you open the electric bill. Beecher will take Trump on to stop tariffs that raise our prices and stop reckless deployments that cost taxpayers billions. Let’s send another vet to clean up the mess. Zach Beecher for Congress.”