NJ Congressional races (especially the 7th District) see big spending as Election Day nears

Spending by political action committees, dark-money groups and other outside organizations in New Jersey’s congressional races reached $22 million by the end of last week, and likely to rise before voting ends Tuesday.

Not surprisingly, the 7th District — stretching from Union to Sussex counties and now more friendly to the GOP after the latest redistricting — is the site of the most spending. A total of $8.3 million has been spent so far, about three-quarters of that in ads either bashing incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski or boosting his Republican opponent, Tom Kean Jr.

It’s the only New Jersey race in which the Congressional Leadership Fund, connected to House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, and the National Republican Congressional Committee are spending money.

The House Majority PAC, in addition to its spending in the 7th, has spent money in three other New Jersey districts where Democratic incumbents might be vulnerable: Rep. Andy Kim in the 3rd, which covers parts of Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth counties; Rep. Josh Gottheimer in the 5th in north Jersey, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the 11th, which spans parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.

These spending amounts are the total as of Friday, and only cover those groups required by law to report their expenditures. There are other groups who have been mailing fliers to voters that skirt the reporting requirement by not specifically advocating for or against one candidate.

For instance, the American Policy Coalition has sent at least three mailers — anonymously — to 7th District voters saying Malinowski is soft on crime, while not specifically calling for people to vote against him. These are very similar to those sent by the Defend Us PAC, which urge people to “Vote NO on Tom Malinowski.” Defend Us did identify itself as the sender on those advertisements and it has reported spending about $203,000 so far opposing Malinowski.

And the America First Legal Foundation — linked to Stephen Miller, an adviser to former President Trump — has mailed advertisements that some called racist saying President Joe Biden and Democrats “are engaged in widespread racial discrimination against WHITE and ASIAN Americans.” These, too, have hit mailboxes in the 7th District.

In total from all sources, more money is being spent backing Democrats for Congress than Republicans — 56% versus 44%.

This article originally appeared on NJSpotlightnews.org and was provided to Gothamist. Find election guides and more election coverage at NJSpotlightnews.org.