Rodney Frelinghuysen Won’t Seek 13th Term – By Simone Pathe (rollcall.com) / Jan 29 2018
New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, announced Monday he will not run for re-election in November.
The northern New Jersey Republican, first elected in 1994, was a Democratic target for the first time in years. The 11th District narrowly voted for President Donald Trump in 2016 and even more narrowly for Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy last fall, according to calculations by Decision Desk HQ.
It’s the kind of wealthy, highly-educated suburban seat Democrats are hoping to flip this year
Two Democrats in his district raised about three times as much as Frelinghuysen did during the third quarter that ended Sept. 30, and his Morristown office has been the site of weekly protests from constituents angry that he’s refused to hold in-person town halls.
Frelinghuysen also earned negative headlines for alerting a local bank that one of its employees was a “ringleader” for NJ 11th for Change, an activist group that has been working against him. The woman later resigned, citing the political pressure she felt at work after that letter.
The congressman had been squeezed in recent months between the demands of his constituents and leadership. He voted against the GOP tax bill late last year, which curtailed the state and local tax deduction. His constituents are among the top beneficiaries of that tax break.
Frelinghuysen’s lackluster third quarter fundraising — he pulled in only $157,000, notably low for an Appropriations chairman from an affluent district — fueled plenty of retirement rumors. He did better in the fourth quarter, raking in $369,000 according to his fundraising report just filed with the Federal Election Commission.
He’s the sixth member of his family to represent New Jersey in Congress and one of the wealthiest lawmakers. He won re-election in 2016 by 19 points.
http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/rodney-frelinghuysen-wont-seek-13th-term
PB/TK – Is it becoming harder for the old GOP guard to hold onto their seats or are they resigning because they don’t want to coup with any POTUS Donnie and Congressional lackluster backlash (if any)?
