New Jersey Ninth District Democratic primary quickly ‘headed into the toilet’
By Joelle Farrell
When New Jersey lost one of its 13 congressional districts last winter, U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman faced a tough choice: run against an incumbent Republican in a right-leaning district that now included some of Rothman’s former turf or square off against a fellow Democrat in a newly formed district that included more than half of his old constituency.
Many Democrats urged him to take on U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, a Republican with tea party leanings in the Fifth District, where the remapping committee put Rothman’s hometown of Fair Lawn, Bergen County. Political insiders acknowledged that it would be a tough race, but some argued that Rothman should fight or fail trying for the good of the party. The National Democratic Party offered Rothman a pot of money for the challenge.
Instead, Rothman chose to take on Democrat U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell in the redrawn Ninth District, setting the scene for New Jersey’s most expensive and acrimonious primary fight. It’s one of the most closely watched races in the nation, attracting the participation of heavy hitters such as former President Bill Clinton, who will hold a get-out-the-vote rally for Pascrell in Paterson on Friday, four days before Tuesday’s statewide primary.
“These guys, after all, were good friends. They used to come back [from Washington] every Thursday night on Amtrak together,” said Ross Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist. “Clearly, Congressman Rothman decided that he did not want to run against Scott Garrett … and I can understand why.”
Aronsohn will challenge Garrett in 2014 with DNC’s pot of money.