Race to watch: What to know about N.J. 2nd Congressional District candidates: Joe Salerno, Jeff Van Drew, Thomas Cannavo

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New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District includes Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties and parts of Gloucester and Ocean counties.

The Garden State has 12 Congressional Districts. Though the congressional delegation leans Democratic, the 2nd is one of three districts currently represented by a Republican. It is also one of two GOP districts that did not see any major shifts when the map was redrawn by Democrats in 2021.

As of Oct. 1, the number of Republican voters in the district has grown by nearly 5%, compared to the same time in 2022. Like most of South Jersey, unaffiliated voters outnumber Republicans and Democrats.

Joe Salerno, Democrat

Salerno said is running to bring jobs to New Jersey and protect Social Security and Medicare. He spent most of his life as a software business owner. Prior to that, he was a mechanical engineer. The first-time candidate is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a law degree from Rutgers University. Salerno and his wife live in North Cape May. They have four children.

Salerno said he wants to see more expanded legal immigration and said it should be one of the top priorities for the next Congress. He called a bipartisan bill that was worked out earlier this year “fairly comprehensive.” It included a provision that gave President Joe Biden authority to “shut down” the border and end the practice of “catch and release.”

“This is a desperately needed piece of legislation, and of course, Donald Trump said, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to see that fixed on Biden’s watch,” he said. Salerno criticized his opponent, Van Drew, for being “too happy to oblige” in killing the bill.

“He’s much more interested in having something to complain about than something to fix,” he said.

Salerno said the right to an abortion should be part of federal law and it should be the top domestic priority for the next Congress.

“In my own casual conversations with people around the district and and beyond, even people who are staunchly pro life in their in their attitudes see the harm that’s being done by these outright bans by states,” he said.

Salerno supports Israel’s right to defend itself. He said he is “distressed” by some of the “incendiary rhetoric” of some who don’t openly acknowledge support for the country.

“People who use rhetoric like the river to the sea is irresponsible, in my opinion,” Salerno said. He said he is “deeply troubled” by actions that are pulling away from a two-state solution.

“I know it seems extraordinarily elusive, but we have to find a way to commit ourselves to have a safe and prosperous Israel and an independent Palestine,” he said.

Salerno feels strongly about the United States’ role in Ukraine, adding that Russia has been expansionist under President Vladimir Putin.

“There is little to justify the notion that Russia, after conquering Ukraine, wouldn’t be expansionist beyond Ukraine,” he said. “We most certainly have to assist the democratic government in Ukraine in its efforts to resist that overt aggression by Putin.”

Salerno has called Van Drew’s criticism of Ukraine as “one of the fanciful things we see from him.”

“To put America first is to contain Russian aggression, because in the long run, we put American lives at risk,” he added.

Jeff Van Drew, Republican

Incumbent Van Drew is running for his fourth term in Congress. He lists his platform as “continu[ing] the fight for A STRONG AMERICA and A STRONG SOUTH JERSEY.”

Van Drew was elected in 2018 as a Democrat, but switched parties a year later in a break over former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment vote. Prior to being elected to Congress, Van Drew was a state senator, assemblyman, Cape May County freeholder and former mayor of Dennis Township. A retired dentist, Van Drew holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a doctorate in dental medicine degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is married with two children and two grandchildren, according to his website.

Van Drew did not respond to requests for interviews, but the Democrat-turned-Republican often airs his views through regular appearances on conservative media that he shares on his YouTube page.

He has maintained a hardline stance on immigration. During a House Judiciary Committee meeting in February, he called the bipartisan immigration proposal “a damn bad bill that did nothing.”

“[It] did nothing to stop ‘catch and release.’ It did nothing to continue to build the wall. It did not institute the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. It didn’t allow the immediate expediting of individuals who did get through back to their country of origin,” he said.

Van Drew voted in favor of a failed Republican-led border bill that was nearly identical to one that passed last year, but would remove the mandate for employers to verify a worker’s immigration status and employment eligibility. The bill also includes about $9 billion in grant programs for border states.

Van Drew is pro-life. He has stated that the Supreme Court “correctly” overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and recently told New Jersey Globe that the federal government does not have a role in the abortion debate.

“I would rather see that the states decide what they’re going to do, and go through that process,” he said. “Let the people speak; let them vote if necessary, however they want to do it.”

Like his challenger, Van Drew is also sympathetic to Israel but it is unclear whether he supports a two-state solution. Shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Van Drew told Newsmax that the U.S. “[has] to stand with [Israel] in solidarity,”  adding the federal government should provide munitions, advice and share intelligence.

“They are the civilizing force in the Middle East,” he said.

Van Drew is against the U.S. engaging in the Ukraine conflict. He has called for an audit on U.S. taxpayers money sent to Ukraine to fund its war against Russia.

“I feel badly for the Ukrainian people and the border issue that they have, but we’ve got to take care of our people and our border issue first,” he told Newsmax host Todd Starnes in April, shortly after Congress approved another aid package for Ukraine worth more than $60 billion.

Thomas Cannavo, Green Party

Cannavo, a native of Pennsville, is a retired attorney and former prosecutor. He earned degrees in philosophy and political science from Rutgers University, and a law degree from Rutgers Law School-Camden.

According to a questionnaire from NJ Spotlight News, he was an intern for former Congressman Bill Hughes, who represented the same district from 1975-1985.

Cannavo, on his website, said he supports the platform of the Green Party. He particularly emphasizes Universal Single Payer Health Care through expanded Medicare, enactment of “a Real” Green New Deal and enacting Ranked Choice Voting and ending tuition for vocational and higher education.

He did not respond to interview requests.