Rzeszowski won’t seek Assembly seat

Democrat Lacey Cotter Rzeszowski, whose use of social media helped her nearly oust a Republican incumbent two years ago, will not run for the 21st district State Assembly again this year, she told the New Jersey Globe this evening.

Rzeszowski came within 1,554 votes of defeating Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit) in 2017 and had been considering a rematch against Munoz and Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield).

The Summit resident attracted attention when she campaigned with a cardboard cutout of then-Gov. Chris Christie, creating a series of humorous and aggressive YouTube videos tagged #thisguy.    She raised $216,340 in her first bid for public office and won endorsements from the Brady Campaign, Emily’s List, the CWA, the Sierra Club and New Jersey Working Families.

Rzeszowski said she has not endorsed any candidates in what is becoming a contested race for the Democratic nomination for the chance take on Bramnick and Munoz.  She committed working hard to unseat the incumbents in the fall.

“I’ll be there, the first person, to hand over everything I have,” Rzeszowski said.  “I’m sure the Democrats will pick a dynamic duo.”

So far, eight Democrats have said they will seek party support to run in the 21st.

Despite her decision not to run in 2019, Rzeszowski says she expects to run for public office again in the future.