Former Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton Township) has endorsed State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) for the Republican nomination for governor of New Jersey in 2025.
“He and I share a political philosophy of fiscal responsibility and social moderation,” said Lance, who represented parts of Hunterdon, Essex, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties during his ten years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Bramnick’s congressman.
Bramnick, a lawmaker since 2003, is running as an unabashed moderate in next year’s Republican gubernatorial primary. Unlike his three rivals – former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville), NJ 101.5 radio host Bill Spadea, and former State Sen. Ed “The Trucker” Durr (R-Logan – Bramnick did not support Donald Trump for president this year.
Lance was viewed as a moderate Republican during a long political career that began in the womb: his father, Wesley L. Lance, a former Senate President, had already been elected to both houses of the legislature before his birth. Lance served as an assistant counsel to Gov. Thomas Kean and was elected six times to the State Assembly and three times to the State Senate; he is a former Senate Minority Leader. He lost his seat to Democrat Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in 2018.
“Jon has served in both houses of the legislature with enormous distinction and leadership,” Lance said. “If elected, Jon Bramnick will be an outstanding governor of this great state.”
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial contest.