NJ Democrats gave thousands to Jeff Van Drew before he switched parties. Now they're mad.

Princeton businesswoman Michelle Pirone Lambros opened her summer home on Long Beach Island in August 2018 to congressional candidate Jeff Van Drew so that local Democrats could open up their wallets.

She invited friends, neighbors and stalwarts from the Democratic Club of Long Beach Island to mingle with Van Drew, a Cape May County state legislator who was poised to be the first Democrat to seize the sprawling 2nd Congressional District in South Jersey in nearly a quarter of a century.

Van Drew talked about the need to defeat his Republican opponent, Seth Grossman, who had been shunned by the state and national party over racially charged remarks, she said. But Van Drew also touched on the elephant-in-the-room issue that was stoking Democratic Party fury: Donald Trump.

"He trashed his opponent more than Trump, but it was all in the same vein," Lambros said. "It was about how we needed to put up a fight against Trump and Trumpism and where the direction of the country was going."

Last month, Van Drew pivoted in a different direction. He joined the Republican Party and pledged his "undying support" for Trump, thrusting the once quiet, below-the-radar South Jersey district into the center of the national debate over the potential perils and payoffs of Trump's impeachment for both parties.

New Jersey Democrats are now lashing out, furious that the Jeff Van Drew that they nurtured and protected with money and political muscle during his three-decade climb from Dennis Township committeeman to Congress has morphed into a Trump enabler.

To many Democrats, Van Drew's party switch goes far beyond the rank opportunism that often prompts such a move. Van Drew is now propping up a reckless president who poses as an existential threat to democracy itself, they argue. And he's aiding and abetting Trump with their donations, they say.

Van Drew formally defected the day after voting against impeaching Trump. He was one of only three House Democrats to break ranks.

"Yeah, I want a refund,'' Lambros said of the event, which netted a modest haul of $2,500 to $3,000 in small donations.

John Kostopoulos, president of the Democratic Club of Long Beach Island, succinctly put it this way: "I gave money to him to represent the Democratic Party, not take the money to buy advertisements as a Republican with my money."

Democratic chairmen of the eight South Jersey counties also fired off a statement last month, demanding an immediate refund of "every dime" he raised from Democrats since he "sold out" in December.

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"His refusal to do the right thing would only prove he’s nothing more than a Bernie Madoff-style con artist stealing other people’s money in a scheme to fill his campaign coffers,'' they fumed in a joint statement.

Atlantic County Democratic Party Chairman Michael Suleiman didn't narrow the demand to Van Drew's post-defection donations. He said Van Drew should return it all, although he doubts that's going to happen. While it was Van Drew's "prerogative" to vote no on impeachment, Suleiman should "face the music from the people who supported you."

"You took our money, we knocked on doors for you, we made phone calls for you, but you’re going to tuck your tail between your legs?'' he said in an interview with NJTV last week. "That’s ridiculous."

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Van Drew did not respond to messages seeking comment on Monday. His federal campaign account reported $932,000 on hand as of Sept. 30. He is under no obligation to return money to aggrieved donors, campaign finance experts say, although it's not unprecedented.

The late U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania agreed to return donations "upon request" when he switched from the Republican Party to the Democrats in 2009. Many took him up on the offer.

Van Drew was a conservative Democrat from South Jersey who was often given a pass from party-line votes on sensitive, progressive legislation during his tenure in the state Legislature, on the grounds that those votes could harm his chances at reelection.

To many, Van Drew was adopting the same logic as a first-term congressman, fearing that a vote for impeachment was unpopular in his district. He argued that the issue was doomed to die in the Republican Senate and diverted attention away from priorities voters cared about.

But he was caught in a tight squeeze: Internal polling showed that a "no'' vote could destroy his chances of winning the Democratic nomination. And some Democratic leaders, like Suleiman, made it clear that he would not "tolerate" Van Drew's "no" vote.

So Van Drew jumped ship. And he is taking the money with him.

Van Drew's new status as the national Democratic Party's most famous turncoat of the new decade does come with valuable consolation prizes that will certainly come in handy in a likely primary this spring. Trump's campaign dispatched former Trump White House political director Bill Stepien to help run Van Drew's campaign. Stepien has a deep knowledge of New Jersey's political landscape, having served twice as former Gov. Chris Christie's campaign manager.

A pro-Trump political action committee is also planning to run $200,000 worth of television ads for Van Drew and $50,000 in digital ads. And then, of course, there is Trump, whose blessing will likely give Van Drew an edge against challengers in the June Republican primary. The Trump campaign announced Monday that the president will hold a Jan. 28 rally in Wildwood, at the southern end of Van Drew's district.

Yet, to Lambros, the switch is still baffling. In her eyes, the fundraiser was the start of a budding political relationship. After the event, Van Drew invited Lambros to a luncheon in Philadelphia with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland. She also became familiar with Van Drew's staff.

Lambros noted that Van Drew was a "little more conservative from where I am on the spectrum, but a Democrat nonetheless." She was willing to support him as part of the national Democrats bid to reclaim the House and capture a seat represented by Republican Frank LoBiondo, who was stepping down after 24 years.

"Certainly, if I had any inkling, I would have never done anything for him, let alone host a fundraiser,'' said Lambros, who was elected to the Princeton council in November.

Other Democrats also had a nuanced view of Van Drew.

Kostopoulos recalled meeting with Van Drew with a small group three weeks before the switch to discuss climate change policy. Van Drew named one of the members of his group to an advisory panel, Kostopoulos said.

"Although we suspected that he wasn't a 100 percent Democrat, he was doing the right thing here and there,'' he said. "His record was not bad."

Kostopoulos was among the guests at Lambros' event last year. He doesn't remember much of what Van Drew said beyond some general remarks. But one moment stands out.

"I remember handing him ... an envelope with checks, which he took graciously," Kostopoulos said.

Charlie Stile is New Jersey’s preeminent political columnist. For unlimited access to his unique insights into New Jersey’s political power structure and his powerful watchdog work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: stile@northjersey.com Twitter: @politicalstile