MacArthur concedes; NJ House delegation will be 11D-1R Presented by Pre-K Our Way

Two-term Republican U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur conceded to Democrat Andy Kim last night, confirming what we expected: That New Jersey Republicans have been all but wiped out in the House delegation, with just one member remaining come January. His concession came hours after the AP called the race for Kim.

"Tonight, I called Congressman-Elect Andy Kim to congratulate him on his victory,” MacArthur said in a statement. “Enough provisional ballots have been counted to make the outcome clear. My staff and I will work with him to ensure a smooth transition in every way. It has been an honor to represent the people of Ocean and Burlington counties over the last four years, and I am proud to have done so with honesty and integrity.” (More on that here )

MacArthur, of course, was President Trump’s closest partner in the New Jersey delegation. But he sought to be close to Trump while appearing as a moderate to constituents who perhaps weren’t weren’t following the ins and outs of politics.

To his constituents, MacArthur portrayed himself as someone able to stand up to the president and work with him as well. But he also fundraised with Trump and had a closed-door event with the with one of the president’s most controversial allies, Rep. Devin Nunez . When he did criticize Trump, even on the most outrageous statements, he broadened out the criticism to include just about everyone else (see Charlottesville ). And, of course, he revived the doomed Obamacare repeal effort and was the only member of the New Jersey House delegation to vote for the new tax law.

But ultimately, voters’ anti-Trump sentiment swept away both New Jersey Republicans who embraced the president and those who conspicuously sought distance, like Leonard Lance. MacArthur performed far better than Kim in the debates I watched. But it didn’t matter. Because of Trump.

But this district could easily go back to Republicans. Kim, no doubt, is aware that the last Democrat to hold it – John Adler — was defeated after just one term. But as long as Trump is driving Democrats to the polls, Kim has an advantage.

WHERE’S MURPHY? In Atlantic City for a 12:30p.m. speech at the League

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — PPAG’s Christina Zuk

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I miss you, too.” — Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver to former Gov. Chris Christie , whom she once called “deranged”

WHAT TRENTON MADE

TRUMP USED TO CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE — Christie: White House hasn’t contacted me about attorney general job, by POLITICO’s Ryan Hutchins: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, said Wednesday he has not been contacted by the White House about the possibility of being nominated for attorney general. The Republican, who left office in January after hitting a two-term limit, is now an attorney in private practice and a political analyst for ABC News. He has moved toward the front of the line for the attorney general job since Jeff Sessions was pushed out after it became clear several other potential nominees were not interested in the position. POLITICO reported last week that Trump has said privately he believes Christie, the first prominent Republican to back his presidential bid, has patiently waited his turn after being passed over for the job during the post-2016 election transition. Christie played coy when asked if he would accept the nomination if asked. “Listen, the only person I owe that answer to is the president of the United States if the question is asked and, if he asks, I’ll answer like I always do,” Christie said. Read more here .

—"Christie steals the spotlight in Atlantic City, rips 'shameful' silence on state opioid crisis,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matt Arco and Brent Johnson: Read more here

WE’RE GOOD ENOUGH, WE’RE SMART ENOUGH AND DOGGONE IT, PEOPLE LIKE US — “Sullivan: What N.J. gained from Amazon experience,” by NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan: “With the long-awaited announcement of Amazon’s intentions to build two major new campuses in Queens and Northern Virginia, I wanted to offer some initial observations for what this means for New Jersey’s economy. We won’t know the full impact of the new campuses or the process of selecting them for many years, but a few things already are clear: Newark is on the national map in a big way: Whatever stage of comeback we thought Newark was at in September 2017, when the HQ2 process began, it’s inarguable that the Brick City took several quantum leaps forward in its national perception as a top destination for major companies. With 238 proposals received, 218 were dismissed early on in the process; Newark made it to the finals — this would have been difficult to imagine just five or 10 years ago. No doubt, other companies will take notice and want to be a part of the Newark story.” Read more here

—“Amazon HQ2: NJ better off losing after $5B Newark deal rejected?” Read more here

TRENTON NEEDS MORE THAN JUST ONE SMITH — “Smith could seek Assembly seat,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Morris County freeholder Deborah Smith, the top vote-getter in her re-election bid last week, has not ruled out seeking the Republican nomination for State Assembly in the 25th district next year. Twelve-term incumbent Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township) said earlier this year that he would not seek re-election in 2019. He is expected to seek the GOP nod for Morris County Surrogate instead. Denville councilman Brian Bergen is the only announced candidate for Carroll’s seat, although other candidates are expected to run.” Read more here

A message from Pre-K Our Way: The Governor and Legislature are working on a state budget – funding new pre-k spaces for New Jersey’s 3- and 4-year-olds and their working families! This is a difficult time in our state. Growing NJ’s pre-k is really important. Thanks! Let’s maintain momentum for pre-k expansion! Visit prekourway.org for more information



I GET HIGH WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENEMIES — Sweeney: I need Murphy’s help to get marijuana legalization passed, by POLITICO’s Katherine Landergan and Sam Sutton: Senate President Steve Sweeney said Wednesday it’s unlikely a package of marijuana bills will be approved by the end of the year unless he and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin can come to an agreement with Gov. Phil Murphy on the legislation. “If we don’t have an agreement, it’s very possible that it doesn’t happen,” Sweeney said after a panel discussion at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference. “I think we’re 98 percent there with the administration, but we have to get to 100.” New Jersey lawmakers have spent much of the last five months working on three bills that would legalize recreational marijuana, expand the the state's medical marijuana program and offer former offenders avenues to expunge their criminal records of certain pot-related offenses. Read more here

—“First pass at legal weed could roll into Statehouse in days, but full vote will require joint effort” Read more here

—"If Sweeney wants to legalize pot, he'lll need NJ mayors in his corner" Read more here

—Sweeney wants legislation from fiscal workgroup drafted by year’s end Read more here

—“What goes on when your mayors go to Atlantic City?” Read more here

THAT MONEY SHOULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE, LIKE PAYING PETER VERNIERO, MICHAEL CRITCHLEY AND JOE HAYDEN — “Wanaque center gets millions in taxpayer funds to care for NJ’s fragile children,” by The Record’s Lindy Washburn: “At the heart of the tragedy unfolding inside a long-term care center in Wanaque lies a paradox. A private, for-profit business is paid millions each year in taxpayer funds to shoulder a sacred public trust — the care of children so medically fragile that most can’t even speak up when something goes wrong. Ten of those children have died and 23 others have been sickened at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation since Sept. 26 in one of the nation’s worst-ever outbreaks of adenovirus. The institution at the center of this storm is part of a small chain of nursing homes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It receives millions in public dollars annually to care for children who were injured in near-drownings or catastrophic falls; who were born too early; who suffer from cerebral palsy or congenital syndromes that render them unable to eat or even breathe on their own.” Read more here

—“Adenovirus outbreak: Health Department orders admissions at Wanaque center to cease” Read more here

AMTRAK’S FAULT — “Ex-NJ Transit officials says he was fired for exposing mismanagement,” by News 12’s Brian Donohue: “If there's a story that sums up how NJ Transit has become the terrible mess that it is, it just might be the story of two guys whose offices sat side by side at the agency. How they got there and where they are now. I'll call it Mike and Todd's excellent — or maybe not so excellent — adventure. First, Mike as in Michael Drewniak, the firebrand former spokesman of ex Gov. Chris Christie. Despite zero experience in transit he became one of many folks with ties to Christie to land a sweet gig at the railroad — becoming the agency's first ever strategic planning director pulling down 147 grand a year. He worked a couple of years, kept a low profile — as in, few people knew what was doing — then quit and moved to Florida. Excellent! For him anyway. Now, the story of Todd. As in Todd Barretta, who had the office next door to Drewniak. His story's a bit less excellent.” Watch the video

A SUCCESS FROM THE CHRISTIE YEARS? — "New Jersey's recidivism rate plummets 19 percent over past six years,” by NJ Spotlight’s Colleen O’Dea: “New Jersey’s rate of prison recidivism has dropped by 19 percent over six years, with fewer than three in 10 of those released winding up reincarcerated within three years, a new report has found. In this recent study, the National Reentry Resource Center and the Council of State Governments Justice Center study looked at New Jersey and 10 other states with significant declines in their three-year return-to-prison rates. New Jersey’s rate dropped from a high of 37 percent in 2007 to 29.8 percent in 2013, according to the most current data available. ‘It’s exciting to see,’ said Roseanne Scotti, state director of the New Jersey Drug Policy Alliance. She cited changes in the state parole system as one reason for the drop in recidivism. The state has increased its offerings of residential and community-based programs for parolees to help them stay on track and make the transition back to life outside prison. There are also programs to help those suffering with substance abuse and mental illness, as well as general rehabilitation.” Read more here

—“State awards $6.8M in emergency aid to 13 districts hurt by school funding changes” Read more here

—“2018 New Jersey Globe Power List” Look for your name on the list

TRUMP ERA

THAT FEALTY TO CHRISTIE REALLY PAID OFF — “New Jersey GOP endures worst cycle in US House races in party history,” by SmartPolitics’ Dr. Eric Osterrmeier: “As discussed in a Smart Politics report two months ago, New Jersey Republicans bottomed out with a century-low election night by recording only a single victory in elections to the U.S. House of Representatives … If Rep. MacArthur’s loss stands, Republicans will have won only 8.3 percent of house seats on the ballot (1 of 12). Only the 1912 cycle (also 8.3 percent) saw Republicans do as poorly at the ballot box since the party organized in New Jersey over 160 years ago in the mid-1850s. All things considered, however, the 2018 cycle was more devastating for the GOP, which lost only two seats in 1912 and shed four this cycle. Democrats had a 7-3 seat advantage in the state heading into the 1912 cycle and proceeded to win two new seats awarded after reapportionment, pick off one incumbent … and win one open GOP seat” Read more here

IF YOU DON'T KNOW HIM BY NOW YOU WILL NEVER EVER EVER KNOW HIM — “Who is Andy Kim? Meet N.J.'s first Asian-American congressman,” by NJ Advance Media’s BIll Duhart: “Kim was raised in the Marlton section of Evesham because his parents wanted to take advantage of the schools in New Jersey. Kim said his father grew up in abject poverty in a Korean orphanage and wanted a better life for his children. ‘My father went on to become an extraordinary Ph.D. scientist who dedicated his life to trying to cure cancer and Alzheimer's,’ Kim's bio said. ‘My mother became a nurse and helped thousands of people in South Jersey.’ Kim went on to become a Rhodes Scholar, a counterterrorism expert and a director for Iraq issues on the National Security Council in the Obama White House. His LinkedIn profile said he attended Deep Springs College from 2002 to 2004, a California institution located on a cattle ranch, where students run the college and are expected to work on the farm.” Read more here

—“Rogers won’t challenge Booker” Read more here

—“Booker once again tried to protect Mueller from Trump. It didn't work.” Read more here





LOCAL

DON’T AC — “Atlantic City mayor agrees to skip ‘Mayor’s Box’ luncheon after casino fistfight; hobnobs with Gov. Murphy,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Amy S. Rosenberg: “Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam, his shiners starting to fade under his eyes from a weekend fistfight outside a casino, was a no-show Wednesday at the annual ‘Mayor's Box Luncheon’ at the New Jersey League of Municipalities meeting. The mayor's traditional ‘Host City Welcome’ was eliminated from the program, which featured state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal discussing the state's long history of politicians' ‘bad behavior.’ Gilliam was an honored guest later in the day, however, seated next to Gov. Murphy at a ribbon-cutting for the new South Jersey Gas Co. headquarters in Atlantic City and giving a speech. ‘No exchanges on that,’ Murphy said when asked to comment on Gilliam's situation. Before his speech, Grewal — who ordered the investigation of Gilliam and Councilman Jeffree Fauntleroy II to be transferred to Cape May County — said the incident was a figurative black eye on Atlantic City.” Read more here

6.2 MASTROS — “Harrah's Casino Plans $56M Hotel Renovation in Atlantic City,” by The AP: “Harrah's casino in Atlantic City is planning a $56 million hotel renovation as it continues to reinvest in itself. The casino says it's re-doing its Harbour Tower and renaming it the Coastal Tower. It will re-design and renovate 507 guest-rooms and suites. The project should be completed by summer 2019, with the first re-done rooms becoming available early in the year.” Read more here

—Snowflack: “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (and Women): a ruffled Morris GOP looks to the future” Read the column

—“Demarest councilwoman set to become borough's first woman elected mayor” Read more here

—“Jersey City bursting at seams with population surge” Read more here

—“Trenton sued over former Public Works employee's drunken crash” Read more here

EVERYTHING ELSE

I WAS DEFINITELY NOT ORDERED TO INCLUDE THIS ARTICLE — “The facts factory,” by Rich Shea for Rutgers Magazine: “As the 10 a.m. editorial meeting at Politico, the news agency covering politics and policy, begins, there’s a lot to cover. It’s July 12, 2018, and President Trump—fresh from a topsy-turvy NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, and prepping for a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki—is now in England, set to meet with British prime minister Theresa May. On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, FBI agent Peter Strzok is about to tell a congressional committee how, despite expressing anti-Trump sentiments via texts, he was able to impartially investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. And, yet, Politico’s editor, alumna Carrie Budoff Brown, seems awfully calm. ‘OK,’ Brown RC’98 tells the dozen editors gathered in a glass-walled conference room, ‘let’s get started.’” Read more here

AH, A STORY TO FINALLY SNUFF OUT ANY FAITH IN HUMANITY YOU HAD LEFT “NJ couple and homeless man in GoFundMe controversy accused of making up story, source says,” from NBC 10: “The New Jersey couple who became famous for raising money for a homeless man after he helped with their disabled car — as well as the homeless man himself — will all face charges for allegedly providing a false story in order to raise money for themselves, a source familiar with the case told NBC10. Mark D'Amico, Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbitt will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, according to the source. A complaint obtained by NBC10 alleges that the three conspired with one another to make up a false story in order to raise more than $400,000 … D'Amico and McClure turned themselves in Wednesday to Burlington County prosecutors, the source said.” Read more here

YOU CAN NAME IT LUCY THE WHITE ELEPHANT — “Scotch Plains: Bowcraft amusement park rides are for sale,” by The Courier-News’ Mike Deak: “Have you ever wanted to have your own roller coaster? Or a carousel? If you're backyard is big enough — and the neighbors don't mind — you can buy Bowcraft's roller coaster, carousel and other rides. With the landmark Route 22 amusement park closed and slated to become an apartment complex, Rides 4U of Branchburg is selling 21 rides from the park … The roller coaster, built by the German manufacturer Zierer, is the most expensive item on the sale list priced at $449,000 followed by the Bertazzon Musik Express at $444,000.” Read more here

—“Want to work at Amazon HQ2? Take it from a Queens native, the commute from N.J. won't be pretty” Read more here

—“Thursday's heavy, wet snow could bring down power lines and leafy trees” Read tmoer here

CORRECTION: In yesterday’s edition, I misattributed the quote of the day, which was about Bob Hugin, to former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. It was actually made by an anonymous Democratic political operative. As usual, I blame the early hour.

Follow us on Twitter Matt Friedman @mattfriedmannj