U.S. Representative and 1997 College graduate Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) announced his campaign for governor of New Jersey at a constituent event in Bergen County, New Jersey on Nov. 15.
Gottheimer, who was recently re-elected to his fourth term as the representative for New Jersey’s 5th congressional district, joins a packed field of candidates for the Democratic nomination looking to replace Gov. Phil Murphy. Gottheimer is campaigning on the promise to be a “lower taxes, lower costs governor” amid New Jersey’s rising costs of living.
In his announcement of his gubernatorial campaign, Gottheimer cited the high cost of living and unnecessary red tape in the state bureaucracy as issues he plans to tackle as governor.
“Life in Jersey has become too damn expensive,” he said.
Gottheimer has been outspoken in publicly calling on Penn to protect its Jewish students against antisemitism. On Oct. 4, he sent a letter to Penn and eight other universities requesting that they the release a plan to combat antisemitism on campus in the light of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
“We are experiencing a tidal wave of antisemitism across our communities and universities, and it is paramount that as university presidents, you take direct action to enforce plans to ensure the safety of Jewish students,” he wrote in the letter.
At the time, Gottheimer wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian that his experience at Penn taught him "to never stop fighting to do better."
"That is why I will never stop fighting for campuses to do the same for their students," he wrote. "No amount of antisemitism or hate should be tolerated on campus.”
During his four years at Penn, Gottheimer was president of the Interfraternity Council, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and a member of the Sphinx Senior Society. Before becoming a U.S. Representative, he worked as a speechwriter for Bill Clinton during his presidency as well as an advisor to John Kerry’s and Hillary Clinton’s 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns, respectively.
Gottheimer also held positions at Ford, Microsoft, and the Federal Communications Commission prior to his election to to the House of Representatives in 2016. He currently co-chairs the House Problem Solvers Caucus along with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) of Bucks County.
Other Democratic candidates for the nomination include Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) also announced her gubernatorial campaign on Nov. 18.
“I understand business," Gottheimer said at his campaign launch. "I understand the public sector. And I am ready to lead this state."
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