Pezzullo will run against Pallone

Richard Pezzullo, who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race last month to endorse Bob Hugin, will run against Rep. Frank Pallone instead.

“The people of the Sixth District are entitled to a representative who is determined to work to make America great again,” Pezzullo said while formally announcing his candidacy at the Middlesex County Republican Women’s Club’s annual Reagan Day celebration.

This is the second congressional bid for the conservative Freehold businessman.  He ran as an independent candidate for Congress against Rep. Donald Payne, Sr. in 1998 and won 3% of the vote.

“We can no longer allow enemies of American progress like Frank Pallone to represent us when he and others like him are spending every day trying to hold our nation back. I am challenging him because I believe that the Sixth District deserves so much better — a representative they can rely on, that they can be proud of,” Pezzullo said. “Pallone was elected to Congress 30 years ago and has not accomplished anything. He is too far left even for his own rabidly leftist party. Isn’t it time for a Congressman who will work for a living?”

Pallone was re-elected to a sixteenth term in 2016 with 64% of the vote.  Hillary Clinton carried the district by a 56%-40% margin.

Hugin has already supporting one-time primary opponent.

“I fully endorse Rich’s candidacy and look forward to working with him,” Hugin said.

While not making a formal endorsement, Republican State Chairman Doug Steinhardt says that he looks forward to working with Pezzullo “to give New Jerseyans the representation they deserve.”

Pezzullo is making his ninth bid for pubic office: he ran as an independent for State Senate in 1993, U.S. Senate in 1994 and 1996, State Assembly in 1995, Governor in 1997, and Congress in 1998.  He won 42% of the vote in a 1993 primary against Co-Senate President John Bennett, and finished second in the 2014 Republican U.S. Senate primary; he lost by 4,598 votes statement – 29%-26%.