His was a campaign with little money and scant support from state and national Republican leaders, but Seth Grossman made an unexpectedly strong showing in the race to fill New Jersey's Second Congressional District seat.

He says it was a campaign he could have been a victor in.

"There's no doubt in my mind that if I did not have unnecessary distractions thrown into my path I would have won yesterday's election as a pro-Trump candidate because this is a pro-Trump district," Grossman said Wednesday.

When the results were in, Democrat Jeff Van Drew beat Grossman by a percentage margin of approximately 52 to 46, much closer than pollsters had predicted in the House of Representatives contest.

Grossman, 69, says his campaign stalled during the summer because of charges of racism against him which caused donations to dry up, and didn't really get going until mid-August.

"I was (then) generating interest and activity, but the point is, it was too late," he said.

"The way I see it is, from the very beginning, Van Drew was seen as an unbeatable force, the inevitable winner and logical successor to (retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Frank ) LoBiondo," Grossman said.

Throughout the contest, Van Drew, 65, a Cape May County dentist, had party support, funding and name recognition thanks in part to his service as a state senator in the First Legislative District.

Announcement - Your new Congressman for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District is Congressman Jeff Van Drew. Congratulations Jeff! pic.twitter.com/um6GikTwKi — Van Drew for Congress (@VanDrewForNJ) November 7, 2018

Van Drew preached bipartisanship as the key to getting things done in Washington and touted his independent streak, saying he isn't been afraid to buck his own party leaders.

Grossman stuck to his conservative message saying he was needed in the House to help carry forward President Donald J. Trump's agenda.

He said it was Democrat mischief that spread word he had forwarded via Facebook an article from a group known for promoting pro-white nationalist content.

"I was distracted trying to prove I'm not a racist," he said.

Also he was seen on video saying "diversity is a bunch of crap and un-American."

Grossman said Wednesday he believes many in the Second District back him on the diversity statement.

With that, state and national Republican groups cut off their support. "Democrats are just very good at getting Republicans to attack one another," he said.

Grossman's momentum going into Tuesday's election may have been because of many factors, he and others believe.

Grossman said the fact his campaign had finally kicked into gear and he was out in the district was one key, but time limits kept him from spending as many days as he needed to in his home territory, Atlantic County.

"There was really a very strong Republican turnout that helped Grossman and made it much closer than anyone expected," said John Froonjian, senior research associate at the Stockton University Polling Institute.

What was going on nationally with Trump trying to whip up his base may have played a role, too.

"I think the movement was for the Republicans in that district. They seemed to have been energized," Froonjian said Wednesday.

As for Van Drew, "he read the district's leanings pretty well, he did not campaign against Donald Trump," Froonjian said.

"It didn't surprise me," said Van Drew about the gains Grossman made in the closing days of the campaign.

He attributed it to "a lot fear tactics" and "untrue direct advertisements" from the Grossman camp claiming Van Drew supported caravans of immigrants coming into the U.S.

Joe Wiessner is a real estate broker in South Jersey and lives in the Second District, says he voted for Grossman for a number of reasons.

Someone just told me of an online betting site where a $17 bet on me against Democrat Van Drew pays $100. If it were legal and legit, I would bet $1K on myself in a heartbeat! https://t.co/RMAzX7SWdR — Seth Grossman (@Grossman4NJ) November 6, 2018

"He was a staunch proponent of the Trump agenda," said Wiessner. "He is also a constitutional conservative, and he was going to support the tax cuts, the illegal immigration problem and the other items that were part of the Trump agenda. Tax cuts are driving the economy and creating opportunities. He would support new Supreme Court and federal judge selections made by the administration."

"Whatever the Democrats did back in June, it was a smear campaign, and the smear worked for a few months and limited some of the funding," Wiessner said referring to the charges of racism against Grossman.

Looking ahead, Van Drew said Wednesday he doesn't want the House to focus on impeachment of Trump or investigations of him. Instead, he said, the focus needs to be on improving America's infrastructure, reducing debt, taxes and jobs.

"I'd rather us not do the political games," he said.

Washington correspondent Jonathan D. Salant contributed to this story.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips