Congressional midterm election guide: Who's running in the June primary

Midterm elections are a chance for voters to express what they think of their representatives by choosing to keep them in office or select someone new.

This year's process officially began Monday, as candidates hoping to represent the 12 seats New Jersey has in the U.S. House of Representatives submitted their petitions to run in the June 5 primaries.

Unregistered voters have until May 15 to sign up to vote in the primary election. Only voters affiliated with a major party can choose their nominee for the general election.

While some seats are safe for the incumbents who hold them, like Bill Pascrell's in the 9th District and Bonnie Watson Coleman's in the 12th, others could face an uphill battle. Here's a look at the most competitive races.

Why Republicans could struggle

After more than year of Donald Trump’s presidency, Democratic and moderate voters in the state are determined to send the conservative party a message of their dissatisfaction by flipping red districts to blue.

And they have a solid chance to do that in districts where Republicans are most vulnerable: in the 11th and 2nd, where longtime Reps. Rodney Frelinghuysen and Frank LoBiondo have decided to resign after completing their current terms, and in the 7th, where Rep. Leonard Lance has faced an anti-Trump backlash.

In New Jersey, a blue state, the Republican Party must overcome not just Trump's unpopularity, but perhaps more so that of former Gov. Chris Christie.

"Two leaders have hurt the party here," said Matthew Hale, political science professor at Seton Hall University. "Chris Christie's unpopularity is a big reason why Republicans are in trouble."

The energy of left-leaning, progressive voters is palpable across the country, but especially in the state’s 11th Congressional District. Hundreds of voters there spent the last year visiting Frelinghuysen’s district office weekly to express their disapproval of his voting record.

“New Jersey’s Democrats and Republicans are moderate and centrist,” Hale said. “We tend to elect people who are not too far on the ideological spectrum.”

Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced earlier this year that he would retire after completing his 12th term. This would have been his toughest election campaign. Trump won the district in 2016 by less than a percentage point. The following year, super-progressive Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy won the historically Republican district.

There’s also energy coming from the left in the 7th, where Lance’s seat is vulnerable.

The Cook Political Report recently rated his seat a toss-up, where previously it was leaning Republican. Democrat Hillary Clinton won in Lance’s district by 4,100 votes, while Murphy lost by 15,000.

Unlike Frelinghuysen, Lance has been holding town halls with his constituents in person as well as over the phone. Hundreds of his constituents attend the town halls and attack him for his voting record under Trump, although he was outspoken against the tax bill and the health insurance overhaul. He also opposed a bill that would make it easier to carry concealed weapons.

But, even so, the anti-Trump constituents associate him with the party's leader.

“In some respects, we’re seeing the moderate Republicans are in trouble because of the extremism of Donald Trump,” Hale said. “They’re getting thrown in the bucket as well, even if they’re not necessarily aligned with him.”

Competitive districts

There was a sea of Democratic hopefuls vying for the party's nomination in the 11th and 7th districts — the state's two most vulnerable Republican districts — earlier this year, but as the deadline for petition filing drew near, one by one they dropped from the race.

Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, is the Democratic party's front-runner in the 11th district for the primary. She filed her petition with more than 5,500 signatures, where the requirement is only 200, showing she has a strong support base.

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his endorsement of Sherill.

"At a time when so many in our country feel left behind by Washington, we need to send leaders like Mikie to Washington who have proven records of service to others and of getting things done," Biden said in a statement from the campaign.

Sherrill faces four other Democrats, including Tamara Harris, a former social worker, who also has an energized following. Harris' campaign just opened a second office in Little Falls this past weekend.

On the Republican side, Jay Webber, a well-known Republican assemblyman, and four others will face off in the primary. Antony Ghee, a director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a major in the United States Army Reserves, is also running for that seat and has secured the Essex County line.

A last-minute candidate and deep-pocketed self-funder, Peter DeNeufville, might prove to be a tough challenge for Webber and Ghee. DeNeufville served as a campaign finance leader for Christie during his presidential run.

Meanwhile, in the 7th District, Lance will likely have a challenge in the general election, as opposed to the primary, where two lesser-known Republicans are running against him.

Seeking the Democratic nomination is Tom Malinowski, a former State Department official who served in the Obama administration. He'll face Peter Jacob, who has experience running against Lance, and one other Democrat.

Republicans running to replace LoBiondo in the 2nd District include a former candidate for governor, Hirsh Singh, and former Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi. On the Democratic side, Jeff Van Drew, a senator, will be up against two others.

"Republicans haven't coalesced around any one candidate down there, while Van Drew has support from centrist voters," Hale, the political science professor, said of the 2nd District races.

Hale said he would expect a higher turnout among Democrats in the primaries than Republicans.

Another competitive primary on the Republican side is in the 5th District, between former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan and John McCann, a former Cresskill councilman. Lonegan has made multiple runs for statewide office, including governor in 2009. The winner of this race will face Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who beat longtime former Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in 2016.

Gottheimer is running unopposed in the primary. He has $2.6 million on hand in his latest financial report on the Federal Election Commission website.

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Who’s running?

12th Congressional District

The 12th District spans parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties

Democrat:

Bonnie Watson Coleman*

Republican:

Daryl Kipnis

11th Congressional District

The 11th District spans parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties

Democrat:

Mark Washburne

Mikie Sherrill

Tamara Harris

Alison Heslin

Mitchell H. Cobert

Republican:

Jay Webber

Patrick Allocco

Antony E. Ghee

Martin Hewitt

Peter DeNeufville

10th Congressional District

The 10th District spans parts of Essex, Hudson and Union counties

Democrat:

Aaron Walter Fraser

Donald M. Payne Jr.*

Republican:

Agha Khan

9th Congressional District

The 9th District spans parts of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties

Democrat:

William O. Henry

Bill Pascrell Jr.*

Republican:

Eric P. Fisher

8th Congressional District

The 8th District spans parts of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties

Democrat:

Albio Sires*

Republican:

John R. Muniz

7th Congressional District

The 7th District spans parts of Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren counties

Democrat:

Peter Jacob

Tom Malinowski

Goutam Jois

Republican:

Raafat Barsoom

Lindsay C. Brown

Leonard Lance*

6th Congressional District

The 6th District spans parts of Middlesex and Monmouth counties

Democrat:

Javahn Walker

Frank Pallone Jr.*

Republican:

Richard J. Pezzullo

5th Congressional District

The 5th District spans parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties

Democrat:

Josh Gottheimer*

Republican:

Steven M. Lonegan

John J. McCann

4th Congressional District

The 4th District spans parts of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties

Democrat:

Joshua Welle

Jim Keady

Republican:

Christopher H. Smith*

3rd Congressional District

The 3rd District spans parts of Burlington and Ocean counties

Democrat:

Andy Kim

Republican:

Martin B. Weber

Tom MacArthur*

2nd Congressional District

The 2nd District spans parts of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties

Democrat:

Tanzira “Tanzie” Youngblood

William Cunningham

Nate Kleinman

Jeff Van Drew

Republican:

Brian Fitzherbert

Seth Grossman

Samuel Fioochi

Robert D. Turkavage

Hirsh V. Singh

1st Congressional District

The 1st District spans parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties.

Democrat:

Robert Lee Carlson

Scot John Tomaszewski

Donald W. Norcross*

Republican:

Paul E. Dilks

Source: New Jersey Division of Elections.

* denotes incumbent

Email: carrera@northjersey.com

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