Former Asbury Park Councilman Jim Keady says he raised $80,000 in the fourth quarter, bringing him to a total of $150,000 in his bid to unseat 19-term incumbent Rep. Chris Smith (R-Hamilton).
Two other Democrats, Josh Welle and Mike Keeling, both retired U.S. Navy officers, are also seeking the nomination.
At a recent forum for Democratic candidates. Keady took a shot at Welle’s call for greater bi-partisan cooperation in Washington.
“Such a desire may sound nice, until we see what Republicans want to do in terms of repealing health insurance reform, deregulating the big banks, and wanting to drill for oil off the Jersey Shore – on these issues, we can’t afford consensus.”
This is Keady’s third shot at higher office. He lost the Democratic primary for Congress in the neighboring third district in 2016, and was the unsuccessful Democratic Assembly candidate against incumbents Sean Kean and Dave Rible in 2015.