Gottheimer amasses pharaonic $13 million warchest

It’s another stratospheric fundraising quarter for the Human Fundraising Machine, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), who raised a monstrous $1,200,776 during the first three months of 2022.

That brings Gottheimer’s cash-on-hand to a colossus $13,071,464 as he seeks re-election to a fourth term in New Jersey’s 5th district.

Gottheimer is armed with a massive warchest, a significantly better district after his party prevailed in congressional redistricting, and a free ride in the Democratic primary, but faces a potentially tough campaign in President Joe Biden’s mid-term elections.

The North Jersey congressman’s titanic haul represents roughly $13,342 raised every day for the first quarter of the year, or about $556-per-hour.  For someone to equal his $13 million warchest, a candidate would need to raise about $143,642 per day, every day until June 30 – and that’s assuming Gottheimer were to take the next three months off.

So far this cycle, Gottheimer raised a prodigious $5,469,233 and an astronomical $23,975,785 since he began running for Congress in March 2015.

Republicans are locked into a competitive four-way primary for the chance to take on Gottheimer, who has received national attention as co-chairman of the House Problem Solvers Caucus.

Nick De Gregorio, a U.S. Marine combat veteran who completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has secured the GOP organization line in Bergen County, where about 75% of registered Republicans in the district live.  He faces former investment banker Frank Pallotta, who has organization support in Sussex and Passaic counties and is running a full line in Bergen.

A third candidate, businessman Fred Schneiderman, remains a wild card in the race.  He entered in January with the support of former Trump White House advisor Kellyanne Conway, a 5th district resident, but has not yet shown if he’s ready to self-fund his campaign.

None of the four Republicans seeking to take on Gottheimer have filed their first quarter fundraising numbers.  The deadline is 11:59 PM on Friday.

Gottheimer defeated Pallotta by 31,842 votes, 53%-46%.  Pallotta spent more than $1.4 million of his own money on his campaign.

Republicans held the 5th district seat for 36 years until Gottheimer, a former Clinton White House speechwriter, took out seven-term Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) by four percentage points in a district that Donald Trump carried.