Nicholas Pugliese and Julia Martin

Staff Writers

New Jersey on Wednesday became the front line for Democrats’ attempt to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives, as Joe Biden and Gov. Phil Murphy visited Montclair to campaign for Mikie Sherrill, the Democrat taking on Republican Jay Webber in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

In remarks stretching over 30 minutes, the former vice president laid into the Trump administration’s “naked nationalism” and asserted that “we’re in a battle for the soul of America.” Biden urged the hundreds of students and supporters who greeted him with a sea of upturned cellphones to “build up a bulwark against the erosion of American values by winning back the Congress.”

“It's gotta change," Biden said in a conference hall at Montclair State University. "The fact is that Mikie understands this really well and she’s committed to restoring that basic bargain.”

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Biden’s visit underscored New Jersey's status as a battleground for Democrats as they attempt to retake control of the House for the first time since 2011. As Murphy put it Wednesday: “If we are going to take the House back from Donald Trump and his Republican enablers, the wave will start here in Montclair and with Mikie Sherrill.”

The 2018 midterms are shaping up to be a referendum on President Donald Trump’s first two years in office, and many traditionally safe Republican districts in New Jersey have become competitive.

That includes the 11th District, which is made up of parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties and has not elected a Democrat in over three decades.

Including Sherrill’s contest, Democrats are favored to win two of the five Republican-held House seats, while two others are rated as toss-ups. Considering enthusiasm among Democratic voters in primaries and special elections in other states, one analyst recently said it was "plausible" for Democrats in New Jersey to extend their 7-5 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation to 11-1.

In total, Democrats would need to pick up 23 Republican-held seats across the country to flip the House.

At one point Wednesday, Biden referred to Webber as a “Trump acolyte.” Webber, a state assemblyman from Morris Plains who has championed conservative issues in Trenton, pushed back against that characterization in a statement.

“I will agree with President Trump when he’s right, disagree with him when he’s wrong, and always put the people of the 11th District and the state of New Jersey first,” Webber said. “The choice in this election is clear. I stand for tax cuts and stand with ICE. Mikie stands with those who raise our taxes, undermine ICE and support sanctuary cities.”

Earlier Wednesday, Webber tried to use Biden’s appearance against Sherrill, warning supporters in an email seeking donations that “she's going to raise big money off of this from the liberals in her base.”

"Mikie Sherrill has made a seamless transition into the role of professional politician, beholden to Democrat Party bosses like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden,” Webber spokeswoman Ronica Cleary added in a statement. “Make no mistake, you will continue to see Democrat party elites campaigning for Mikie up until Election Day, because they are fighting to send someone to Congress who will support their liberal platform that includes trillions of dollars in new taxes, and that is weak on Syria, Iran, and Israel.”

Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor who lives in Montclair, has said she was motivated to run for office in response to the Trump agenda and his “attacks on women, minorities, Gold Star families, POWs and the Constitution.”

On Wednesday, she said she was ready for a fight during the remaining weeks in the race to replace 12-term Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, who surprised party leaders when he decided in January to retire.

“We’re fighting for new leadership in Washington. We’re fighting for the future we know this country is capable of,” Sherrill said. “We’re fighting because we know that our government needs not only to be a government by the people but a government for the people. All of the people.”

Several members of the audience were revved up for a message of change before Biden and Sherrill even took the stage.

“To have Joe Biden is the much-needed extra support Mikie needs to push this primarily Republican Congress over to the Democrats,” said Veronica Miklaszewski, 40, of Montclair. “She is the drive we need in Congress so we can challenge the White House. If we won’t have a Democratic House or Senate, there’s very little chance we can challenge the president when we don’t agree on the sexist and racist positions he takes.”

Biden is hardly the first current or former occupant of the White House to wade into the fray in New Jersey.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Morris County last month to help raise money for Webber.

That was shortly after Barack Obama released a round of endorsements for the 2018 midterms that included Democrats Tom Malinowski and Andy Kim, who are locked in competitive races against incumbent Reps. Leonard Lance and Tom MacArthur.

And Trump headlined a fundraiser for MacArthur last year at his Bedminster golf club that reportedly raised more than $800,000 for the two-term Republican.

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Sherrill, for her part, has proved to be a prodigious fundraiser, bringing in a record $1.9 million during the three months ending June 30, and edged Webber in a June poll. Three political handicappers have rated the race as leaning in Sherrill’s favor, although there are two months until Election Day.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com