U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5) joked that Hudson County is “a second home” during a press conference about bills to stop benefit scammers, but he’s still holding his cards close to the vest when in comes to next year’s gubernatorial contest.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It is a huge honor for me to be in Elizabeth today at the Union County Department of Social Services, just a stone’s throw away from my home county, and I don’t mean Hudson when I say that, I mean Bergen, though County Executive Guy and Mayor Stack will tell you that I’ve adopted Hudson as a second home,” he joked at a presser to discuss bills to stop benefit scammers.
“I’d argue I’m also partial to Union County and Elizabeth, where I’m a huge fan of our great mayor here and our phenomenal commissioners. You could have a pretty impressive mayors cage match between [Brian] Stack and [Chris] Bollwage in term of people who fight for their city. Maybe you guys can buy some tickets to that later.”
While Gottheimer, who is seeking his fifth term on November 5th, has yet to declare any intentions for 2025, he is widely viewed as a Democratic contender for governor.
This became blatantly obvious when Stack, also the state Senator of the 33rd Legislative District, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy, also the chair of the county Democrats, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, West New York Mayor Albio Sires, a former colleague in the House, and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner last week.
This announcement sent shockwaves throughout the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), given that Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop was the first gubernatorial candidate to announce in April 2023 and had the backing of prior HCDO Chair Anthony Vainieri.
Despite the shakeup, Fulop remains confident that he will still be victorious in 2025 and Gottheimer isn’t ready to talk about the June 3rd, 2025 primary.
“I’ll just say hugely honored … To be next to a great mayor like Brian Stack is a huge honor for me. You can’t ask for someone who works for a city, who works for people harder than he does, so what we did today was on the federal side for me and state level for them,” he told HCV.
“More proof to what I believe, that you couldn’t ask for better mayors who fight for people who are hardworking folks … I’m just focused on one thing, fighting for Jersey, I’m gonna keep doing that like I did today, and we’ll talk about that other stuff later, but what I’m focused on is doing my job every single day, for Jersey, so I’ll keep doing that.”
Coincidentally, Fulop attended a presser at the same time, joined by fellow Jersey City officials with cutting the ribbon on the revitalized 360-year-old Bergen Square.
For now, the Democratic field of gubernatorial candidates also includes Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, and former state Senate President Steve Sweneey.
