Lisa Mandelblatt, who has raised the most cash in her bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district, withdrew from the race today and endorsed Tom Malinowski for the chance to take on Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) in November.
“It is time to put changing our country over my own candidacy and do what is best for our shared goal in November,” Mandelblatt said. “I want to ensure that the candidate who is best able to take out Congressman Leonard Lance has a clear field to do so. I urge the other candidates to consider the consequences of a bloody primary.”
Mandelblatt has raised more than $600,000, about half of it self-funded. She said she is endorsing Malinowski, a former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State, because he shares her values
“He’s not a woman and he tells terrible dad jokes,” Mandelblatt said. “But I have heard him in forum after forum state his eagerness to fight for women and stand up for progressive values in Washington.”
She said she plans to campaign for Malinowski.
“There is nothing more important than beating Lance in November, and I will do everything I can on behalf of Tom or whoever it may be to do so,” Mandelblatt said.
Mandelblatt said she entered the race partly because of President Trump and because of her desire to see more women in public office.
“I firmly believe that behavior and conversations will not change until women have a seat at the table and make our voices heard directly. But being a woman is not enough of a qualifier. We need women who will fight for and amplify the voices of other women,” said the working mom from Westfield. “We must flip the House if we are going to stop this assault on our most fundamental values,” Mandelblatt said. “We need to win 24 seats to flip the house and CD7 is one of these must-wins. This is a daunting and awesome responsibility.”
