The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has added John McCann to their Young Guns program. This is not an endorsement, and McCann’s challenger in the fifth district primary, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, was added to the Young Guns list last October.
Both want to challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff). Gottheimer unseated seven-term incumbent Scott Garrett in 2016 in a district that Donald Trump carried by one percentage point.
The Young Guns program – it’s got nothing to do with age: Lonegan is 61 and McCann is 57 – requires House candidates to hit specific fundraising goals throughout the campaign.
“Today’s announcement confirms what everyone on the ground in New Jersey already knows, Congressman Gottheimer is extremely vulnerable and he fears running against John McCann,” said Campaign Co-Chairman Rob Pettet, “Republicans are primed for victories all over the country this fall, and it starts with winning back this district.”
is the fundraising requirement $12,302 in a quarter?