WASHINGTON — Josh Roesch is playing a major role in South Jersey’s hot congressional race. But it’s different than the one he thought he’d signed up for.

Roesch, who grew in Stow Creek, was all set to manage Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s re-election campaign. Then Van Drew became a Republican. Now Roesch has been named to run Democrat Amy Kennedy’s efforts to oust the rookie representative.

Kennedy, the wife of former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, is one of at least five Democrats running for a nomination that opened up after Van Drew’s party switch.

“It is strange?” Roesch told NJ Advance Media. “Of course it’s strange. It’s a unique situation.”

Like members of Van Drew’s congressional staff, Roesch quit his campaign post after the congressman told him of his plans to switch parties following his oppositon to impeaching President Donald Trump.

“I thought I was working for a Democrat,” Roesch said. “I’d like to go work for a Democrat still.”

So the veteran of New Hampshire and Virginia politics expressed an interest in working for Kennedy, a long-time resident of the congressional district, and was hired to run her campaign.

Kennedy said Roesch’s “deep roots in South Jersey" and "his experience in this district and nationally will help us run the campaign we need to communicate our message about getting politics back to the business of doing what’s right and serving our community, not ourselves.”

Other Democrats in the race include Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison; Will Cunningham, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Cory Booker; Atlantic County Freeholder Ashley Bennett and West Cape May Commissioner John Francis III.

On the Republican side, Van Drew faces opposition from Bob Patterson, a former acting associate commissioner of the Social Security Administration under Trump and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush; corporate executive David Richter; and Brian Fitzherbert, a businessman, engineer and project manager in the defense and aerospace industry.

Van Drew’s new campaign manager, Ron Filan, is a former New Jersey state director for the Republican National Committee and political director at the New Jersey Republican State Committee. Van Drew also is being helped by Bill Stepien, Trump’s former White House political director who earlier helped Chris Christie win two terms as governor.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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