Former New York Jets player Nick Mangold says he will not seek the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th district.
“I am not running for Congress. While it would be an amazing opportunity and honor to serve the people of New Jersey’s District 11, I am not at a place where I could commit to that,” Mangold said in a Twitter post. “I like to investigate every opportunity that comes to me, and this one will not go any further. However, I do appreciate the support that was given in my short period of possibly thinking about running for Congress.”
Some party leaders sought to recruit him soon after Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) announced that he would not seek re-election. Frelinghuysen’s last-minute retirement came as a surprise to Republicans in New Jersey and Washington, who are defending their House majority this year during Donald Trump’s mid-term elections.
The GOP contest is still taking shape.
The early front-runner for the Democrats is Mikie Sherrill, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor from Montclair. She is making her first bid for public office and raised over $1.2 million as of the end of 2017.