Editor’s Note: When taking the step to endorse candidates of either party, North-JerseyNews.com is basing our evalution on two main criteria: How will the policies the candidate supports help New Jersey? and Are their views too extreme for the average North Jersey voter? We will not agree with everything any candidate supports, but we considered the issues they prioritize, personal background and endorsements they have received in evaluating their ability to help the residents of North Jersey in Washington.
We are making endorsements for both parties as we are looking for the best candidates with the best ideas to move America forward in a united way. No one party or candidate has all the answers and we believe through debate and elections, the best ideas will show through.
Senate
We believe that Sen. Cory Booker should be the Democratic nominee for the Senate. Booker has emerged as a national figure in the last year and has taken the lead in the Senate in pushing social justice reform measures. A politician who has always worked across the aisle going back to his days as Newark’s mayor, Booker will be a major voice in fostering deals in Washington going forward.
As for the GOP, Rik Mehta is the candidate we believe best represents the party’s chance to elect a Republican Senator since the 1970s. A Morris County resident, Mehta’s background in both the medical and law field would be a benefit to the nation going forward in its battle with the COVID-19 crisis.
5th District
In the 5th, Rep. Josh Gottheimer has earned the endorsement over Glen Rock councilwoman Arati Kreibich. The simple fact is Gottheimer’s stances are in line with the district. In a R +3 district, the incumbent’s style of working across the aisle is needed in order to have the party retain the seat and, in the bigger picture, the House of Representatives.
Our pick for the Republicans is Mahwah investment banker Frank Pallotta. We were impressed by Pallotta’s ability in the private sector to help those who need it, specifically the co-founding of a New Jersey-based small business to help struggling homeowners and veterans who were affected by the 2008 mortgage crisis avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes, an experience that will be needed as the nation looks to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
8th District
Rep. Albio Sires is being challenged by two candidates in his district, Union City resident Hector Oseguera and Will Sheehan of Bayonne. While both Oseguera and Sheehan would both represent a new generation of leadership to the state’s congressional delegation that is needed, Sires has been an unyielding advocate for his district during his time in the House and his seniority on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is needed as major decisions await on the Gateway project in the coming years.
Jason Mushnick was the only Republican to file paperwork for the primary.
9th District
Democratic voters should select Rep. Bill Pascrell over his two opponents—Tenafly resident Zina Spezakis and Alp Basaran of Fort Lee—when they cast their ballots. Pascrell is a tireless worker for the district and the state who has consistently advocated for COVID-19 aid that has battered the 9th district. His presence on the House’s Ways and Means Committee is an asset that New Jersey can not afford to lose.
Paterson native Billy Prempeh is the choice over Tim Walsh for the Republican nomination in the 9th district. Simply put, Prempeh backstory—the son of immigrants from Ghana—is a perspective Congress needs more of as it attempts to find a solution on immigration and border security issues.
10th District
In one of the most reliable Democratic districts in the state, Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10) receives our backing for the party’s nomination. Much like Rep. Sires, Payne’s standing on the Transportation and Infrastructure committee is needed to make sure funding is secured for the region’s Gateway project.
Republicans Jennifer Zinone was the only candidate to file to run in the 10th Congressional District.
11th District
Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill and GOP challenger Rosemary Becchi are both running unopposed in the primary.
Singh For Senate! No one wants that dumpster fire Mehta!!
Who is Singh? He keeps running for office and can’t seem to win.
Blue all the way. Every office, every election, every level, from POTUS to the lowest-level, most local small-town official. Anyone and everyone in the same party as this God-awful pile of cockroach dung has no morals, ethics, decency, empathy, feelings or brains and has GOT to go. The GOP must simply die off, the sooner and more permanently the better.
AGREED.
I can find no reason to trust the judgment of a non-Christian person of color who aligns himself with Trump and the current disaster of a Republican party. That party’s leader in particular hates everything about their very being, except for their potential usefulness to him, I could not vote for someone with that lack of wisdom even if he was running unopposed. This year it has to be blue all the way, top down.