Politics & Government

Congressional Election Guide: District 9

Republicans ride below radar as Democratic incumbents Pascrell and Rothman run one of the 'nastiest races' in America

In New Jersey’s 9th District, for Congress who wrote a book called “Kosher Sex.” He also lives next door to Muammar el-Qaddafi’s Englewood estate and once served as Michael Jackson’s spiritual adviser.

Somehow, even with that background, Shmuley Boteach, has flown below the New Jersey media’s political radar screen. That’s because he’s seeking the Republican nomination in a district dominated by the bruising battle between Democratic incumbents Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman.

The one-time friends are facing each other in what could be a political death match, an increasingly bitter contest that’s been tabbed by one national publication as one of the five nastiest races in America. By April 15, Pascrell and Rothman already spent a combined $1.4 million on the race and they had another $3.35 million left in their campaign war chests, according to federal election finance reports.

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“That’s a nasty campaign," Boteach said of the Democratic primary. “I’m amazed by it.”

New Jersey lost one congressional seat as a result of the 2010 Census and either Pascrell or Rothman will be the guy who’s left out.

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For 15 years, they had been amicable neighbors as congressmen. Pascrell represented the 8th District, which included his hometown of Paterson, 10 other Passaic County communities and a swath of Essex County towns. Rothman’s district was just across the Passaic River, covering most of Bergen County’s largest cities and stretching into Hudson County.

In those days, it was common for the liberal-minded Democrats to stand shoulder-to-shoulder at press conferences fighting for the same cause. But New Jersey’s new congressional map squeezed Pascrell’s Passaic County turf together with most of Rothman’s Bergen County territory in a new 9th District that political experts deemed would favor Democrats.

Fair Lawn, where Rothman had been living, district, where Republicans held the majority and conservative GOP incumbent Scott Garrett already was popular. So Rothman decided to relocate to Englewood, where he once was mayor, setting up his contest with Pascrell.

In some ways, the Democratic primary has become a border war between Bergen and Passaic counties, with both sides claiming endorsements from numerous local politicians. Party leaders in the two counties have cautioned that their towns would become political stepchildren if the guy from across the river wins. The outcome could determine which communities end up first in line for millions of dollars in federal funding, they warn.

“You see what’s happening with Pascrell and Rothman, it’s one county against the other,” said Herbert Castillo, a Paterson eye doctor who is one of three candidates for the Republican nomination in the 9th district. “Hopefully, that’s not what the people believe. Hopefully, they pick the best qualified person, no matter where he’s from.”

Voters sifting through Pascrell and Rothman’s records may have some trouble distinguishing the two. In 4,886 votes since January 2007, Pascrell and Rothman have been on the same side 97 percent of the time, according to OpenCongress, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group. During 2011, they voted the same way 897 times and differed in 52 instances, a review of their records shows.

Each of the two Democrats has asserted that he would be the better defender of liberal values and ally of President Barak Obama against the nation’s growing Tea Party movement. Some analysts have called it a race to the left.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

 

 

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