Rep. Chris Smith, who has represented New Jersey’s 4th District in the US House of Representatives for 20 consecutive terms, will be running for reelection in 2020, but not without a challenger.
Jim Keady, a former Asbury Park Councilman, announced that he would be running in the Democratic primary to unseat Smith, who has been serving in his position since 1981. Keady is an outspoken progressive Democrat who supports Bernie Sanders, perhaps the most liberal candidate in the 2020 election race.
Keady narrowly lost the 2016 Democratic nomination for the seat Smith holds to Josh Welle, who went on to lose to Smith 55-43. He now joins a large field of candidates vying for the nomination, including Stephanie Schmid, David Applefield, Tiffany Kaszuba, and Christina Conforti.
Keady, who is a resident of Spring Lake, received national attention after then-Governor Chris Christie told him to “sit down, and shut up” at a 2014 event in Belmar marking the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.
Although New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District has generally been considered a safe Republican stronghold in the deep-blue state of New Jersey, Smith faces some political headwinds in his quest for reelection. Democrats are fired up to get out and vote President Trump out of office, and if they achieve massive turnout, it could have serious consequences for Republicans further down the ballot, including Rep. Smith.
Thank you to all that supported and elected me to the County Commitee. Look seriously at the Democrat Clown Show. It’s not only a circus, it’s a decades long corrupt catastrophe bleeding Lakewood. Keep Ocean red. Vote Republican. The only way is for them to get indicted (not likely with Murphy, Oliver and Grewal who are stars in the sham) so go and vote them out. Vote for Chris.