Rep. Scott Garrett has been a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership. After Rep. Garrett's comments on gay Republicans, Dems look to cash in

Rep. Scott Garrett’s private complaint that D.C. Republicans should not support gay candidates is about to bring a pile of cash for his Democratic opponent.

Veteran Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf and top political operative Patti Solis Doyle are cohosting a Washington fundraiser Wednesday for Josh Gottheimer, Garrett’s Democratic opponent. The event, which will be held at Elmendorf Ryan’s offices, has suggested contribution levels of $1,000, $500 and $250 for attendees, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by POLITICO.


Elmendorf explicitly tied the New Jersey Republican’s controversial comments to Gottheimer’s run in a July 16 email, telling potential donors “if you are looking for an opportunity to show Scott Garrett that this is unacceptable we have a great candidate.”

Elmendorf, a New Jersey native, said that Garrett’s comments — that he won’t contribute to the National Republican Congressional Committee if it supports gay candidates — “provided a hook to show people a good race to get invested in” and that they wanted to “strike while the iron is hot.”

Garrett, who chairs a prized panel on the Financial Services Committee, has been a thorn in the side of House Republican leadership. He holds a subcommittee gavel, but routinely votes against procedural motions and has not donated to the NRCC.

POLITICO reported earlier this month that Garrett told fellow lawmakers behind closed doors that he didn’t contribute to the NRCC because it recruited and supported gay candidates in Republican primaries. His comments raised the ire of North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who led candidate recruitment for the NRCC in 2014.

A Garrett spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

If Gottheimer’s candidacy catches on, it could be problematic for Garrett. His northern New Jersey district is only slightly Republican. Mitt Romney won by three points in 2012 and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) won by just two points in 2008. Garrett won by 13 points in 2014, knocking off well-funded Democrat Roy Cho.

Gottheimer is no newbie to Washington politics. He served as a speech writer for President Bill Clinton and as an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008. He has also served as director of strategic communications for Ford Motor Company and currently is general manager of corporate strategy for Microsoft.

Gottheimer has almost $600,000 in his campaign account, according to a recently filed election report.

Garrett has received criticism from both Democrats and Republicans in New Jersey.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said Monday at a POLITICO Playbook breakfast in Newark that Garrett’s comments about gays were “bigotry plain and simple.”

Garden State Equality, a gay rights advocacy group, also planned a protest outside of Garrett’s Glen Rock district office and is urging corporate backers to stop cutting checks to Garrett. So far, none of the big banks like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup or Goldman Sachs have asked Garrett to return their contributions.