Former President Donald Trump will return to Wildwood on May 11 for a beachfront campaign rally, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee will visit Wildwood at the request of Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), his New Jersey campaign chairman. He held a rally at the Wildwood Convention Center in January 2020, weeks after Van Drew switched parties.
From time to time, Trump has teased a play for New Jersey’s fourteen electoral votes in a state that he has lost twice by double-digit margins.
An Emerson College Poll released on April 2 shows Biden with a narrower-than-expected 46%-39% lead over Trump. Biden’s lead drops to five points with independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in the race; Kennedy is polling at 8%.
Trump did not play in New Jersey in 2016, when he lost the state by fourteen percentage points against Hillary Clinton, or in 2020, when Joe Biden carried the state by 725,087 votes, 57%-41%.
One prominent Republican who is unlikely to join Trump on the stage is former Gov. Chris Christie. Once Trump’s biggest cheerleader, the two had a falling out – something Christie tends to do with people – and the ex-governor mounted an unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination this year.
Van Drew is leading Trump’s statewide delegate slate in the June 4 primary election.
If Trump wins, Van Drew could wind up in a cabinet post. Either way, Van Drew would be expected to play a key role in the selection of a U.S. Attorney and federal judges if Trump regains the presidency.
The Press of Atlantic City first reported the Trump rally.