Chris Smith vanquishes yet another Democratic foe
HAMILTON >> If anybody knows how Democratic challenger Josh Welle feels following Tuesday’s big loss to U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, it is Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, both of whom lost to the Republican congressman in prior elections.
“Josh Welle actually came ahead of Chris Smith in the Fourth District in the Mercer County portion and beat Chris,” Hughes said Wednesday in an interview. “I feel good at what we were able to do to deliver for Josh in Mercer County. He was a great candidate, somebody who had a great résumé.”
Welle received 17,077 votes in Mercer County to Smith’s 16,618, but the congressman received 90,095 votes in Monmouth County and 49,744 votes in Ocean County, easily beating Welle’s 24,028 votes in Ocean County and Welle’s 78,499 votes in Monmouth, according to unofficial ballot counts.
Democrats competed well in New Jersey and across the nation, regaining majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives. But the so-called “blue wave” did not stop Smith from winning reelection to a 20th term. He received about 56 percent of the vote in the Republican-friendly Fourth Congressional District, while Welle fell short with about 43 percent of the vote.
“With the way the district is drawn, any Republican is going to have a built-in advantage,” Hughes said of the Fourth Congressional District. “It is just a district that lends itself to a Republican candidate.”
Before becoming Mercer County executive and a Democratic Party heavyweight, Hughes challenged Smith in 1992 and lost in a landslide. Hughes is the son of former New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Hughes, a former New Jersey Supreme Court chief justice, and he has since developed a “workable relationship with the congressman,” the county executive said.
“Chris Smith has worked very hard in developing his constituent service. He works very hard in the retirement community in the Ocean and Monmouth section of the district. They have a lot of seniors in those retirement communities,” Hughes said. “I have to give him credit for that. He has developed a strong base of volunteers, and I have to give him a lot of credit for that.”
But with the Fourth Congressional District being redrawn in 2011 to fully exclude the City of Trenton and other Democraticfriendly communities, “It is a district that is made for a Republican candidate,” Hughes said. “I think if you replace Chris Smith with John Doe and add an R after their name, they have a built-in advantage, I think, and that is not taking anything away from Chris and what he has done in the last 38 years.”
Smith, 65, of Hamilton, has represented New Jersey’s Fourth Congressional District since 1981, legislating as a pro-life conservative and human rights champion. The district encompasses a crosssection of Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer counties, including Robbinsville and Hamilton townships.
A big issue affecting Hamilton and other Mercer County communities is the troubled operations of Trenton Water Works, but Smith has done nothing to upgrade TWW’s infrastructure, Hughes said.
“We could get federal support for Trenton Water Works even though it is not in his district. It supplies water to his district,” Hughes said. “With a Republican president, House and Senate, I didn’t hear Chris Smith even try to get federal funding for the Trenton Water Works.”
“If you lose your home county, that’s not saying a very good record,” Hughes said of Smith, adding the congressman may have lost the Mercer County vote due to the ongoing TWW debacle.
Gusciora has taken steps to bolster the operations and maintenance of TWW as Trenton’s new mayor. He also knows what it is like to run unsuccessfully against Congressman Smith.
“It is really a hard hill to climb when you are running against an incumbent legislator in Congress,” Gusciora said Wednesday in an interview. “Josh was wellqualified. He also served in the Navy and had a good story to tell, a successful businessperson. He had probably the best shot out of Chris Smith’s prior opponents.”
When Gusciora was a Democratic state assemblyman, he challenged Smith in 2000 and lost in a landslide. Fast forward 18 years and Gusciora still continues to oppose Smith primarily because “his social agenda is way too conservative for the district,” the openly gay mayor said. “Chris Smith has in effect supported the Trump agenda and been part of the majority that has provided very little oversight on this president that needs a lot of oversight.”
Welle, 39, of Rumson Borough in Monmouth County, lost the general election Tuesday but may have a bright political future ahead of him, Gusciora said.
“I wouldn’t count Josh out in the same manner I wouldn’t count out Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams to return on the political stage,” Gusciora said, referring to three rising Democrats who apparently lost key elections Tuesday. Abrams on Wednesday refused to concede defeat in Georgia’s gubernatorial sweepstakes.
After losing Tuesday’s midterm election, Welle gave an upbeat speech thanking his supporters, bashing Smith and suggesting he will stay involved in the political process.
“Together we shined a light on how backwards our representative has been,” Welle said in his concession speech. “We are not going to sit on the sidelines while this country goes backwards. We have much to be proud of. Together we have made history in this district; we have lifted it up. District Four is on the map, and we are on a pathway to change. Together we have sacrificed. We have raised nearly $1.9 million to communicate to speak truth to power to tell the truth about Chris Smith, to tell the truth about civil liberties and civil rights and our demands. I am so grateful for that.”
“To my opponent,” Welle added, “take this as a signal that we want town halls — that we need a leader that listens — that we need a leader that puts service first, and we will be watching.”
Smith has a long record of legislative accomplishments. After winning re-election to a 20th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, the congressman said he looks forward to the work ahead.
“America today faces an unprecedented number of difficult challenges that must be met, and I am eager to work on solutions including the need to grow the economy, sustain a strong military, increase resources to mitigate human trafficking and violence against women, ensure affordable and accessible high quality health care, preserve Social Security and Medicare, protect our environment including our beautiful Jersey Shore, and end incivility and barbaric violence as we tragically witnessed again in Pittsburgh,” Smith said Wednesday in a statement. “I’m looking forward to continuing to work for my constituents during the 116th Congress.”