Webber, NRCC play good cop, bad cop on Sherrill pharma investments

Assemblyman Jay Webber and the National Republican Congressional (NRCC) committee aren’t following the same line on Mikie Sherrill’s investments in pharmaceutical companies.

The NRCC responded aggressively when asked about Sherrill’s investments in the companies, while Webber, Sherrill’s rival in the race to replace retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, opted not to go on the attack over the issue.

“Mikie Sherrill was caught red-handed publicly attacking the same companies that she privately holds massive financial assets in,” said NRCC regional spokesman Chris Martin. “It hasn’t taken long for Sherrill to start playing politics and it shows exactly why she can’t be trusted.”

Sherrill and her husband do not have any input into the investments, which are required by law to be made by a third party on their behalf because of the job Sherrill’s husband has in the financial industry, said Sherrill campaign manager Mollie Binotto.  They own between $11,000 and $168,000 worth of pharmaceutical company stocks, according to Sherrill’s personal financial disclosure.

Sherrill has said in the past that practices in the industry, particularly those related to deceptive marketing of opiates like oxyconitn, and how they may have contributed to the opioid crisis should be looked into.

Still, Webber chose not to push the that line of attack.

“The opioid crisis is a problem that is taking a tremendous toll on our community and requires a coordinated response in the private sector and in government at the local, state, and federal levels,” Webber said in a statement. “Any attempted solutions to it must include a combination of accountability, outreach, and protections and support for families facing these terrible challenges. I’m committed to working with members of all parties to help those families who have been impacted by this crisis.”

It’s not clear why Webber chose not to press the issue.

His current holdings consist mainly of mutual and index funds, which group together stocks. While his campaign said that he did not directly own stock in pharmaceutical companies, it’s likely that his holdings in index funds like Vanguard mean he has indirectly invested money in the industry.

But that’s not the only reason he might demur on the issue, said Micah Rasmussen, director of Rider University’s Rebovich institute.

“There are a couple of reasons for it,” Rasmussen said. “One is so that the candidate doesn’t get his hands dirty, and two is maybe the candidate has some vulnerability there himself. And, I’m not saying this is the case with Webber, but if there’s even the hint of a question – who knows what his portfolio looked like in the past or if he’s ever owned a pharmaceutical stock – he may prefer to not be accused of the same kind of hypocrisy that the NRCC is accusing her of.”

But making those attacks through a proxy doesn’t really inoculate Webber from facing the same, Rasmussen said.

It’s not clear whether or not those attacks will find saliency later on, but as Sherrill learned after an ill-advised statement put out by State Sen. Nellie Pou in the primary, surrogates are no shield.

Indeed, Sherrill’s campaign took the opportunity to jab Webber over his voting record on the issue.

“As a former federal prosecutor, Mikie knows first-hand the toll that addiction takes on our communities. In Congress, she will work across the aisle to address the growing opioid crisis in New Jersey,” Binotto said. “This is a stark contrast to Assemblyman Jay Webber, who was the only legislator to vote against requiring insurers to provide coverage for substance abuse treatment and to crack down on the over-prescription of opioids.”

Whoever comes out ahead in the 11th from this episode, the NRCC’s line of attack puts a different New Jersey Republican in something of an odd position.

Bob Hugin, the Republican nominee for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat, is a former executive in the pharmaceutical industry, and Menendez’s campaign has wasted little time focusing in on his tenure there in the increasingly-nasty election brawl.

That race might not be the NRCC’s problem, but they certainly aren’t doing Hugin any favors.

“I think it sends enormously mixed signals to the voters in the district. You’re asking them to forgive Hugin for something that you’re asking them to hold against Sherrill,” Rasmussen said. “I think that’s a real stretch for most people, especially because … it strikes me there is a fundamental difference between an active executive of a company and the passive investors of a company.”