Chris Smith

Smith was the only Republican to win a congressional race in New Jersey that year, reducing the GOP to its smallest presence in New Jersey's House delegation since 1918.

Christopher Henry Smith (born March 4, 1953) is an American politician serving his 22nd term as the U.S. representative for NJ's 4th congressional district.

Though it has taken various forms, his district has always been situated in central New Jersey.

Currently, the district contains parts of Ocean and Monmouth counties.

Smith was born in Rahway, New Jersey, on March 4, 1953.

He attended St. Mary's High School in Perth Amboy, where he competed as a runner and wrestler.

After graduating with a B.A. in business administration from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), Smith worked in his family's sporting goods business.

In the 1976 election cycle, he managed the Democratic primary challenge of Steven Foley, an attorney and anti-abortion activist, against incumbent Senator Harrison A. Williams; Foley received about 15% of the vote, losing to Williams.

Smith is a member of the Republican Party, having switched from the Democratic Party in 1978.

Smith is the dean of New Jersey's congressional delegation and the longest-serving member of Congress in New Jersey's history.

In 1978, Smith switched to the Republican Party, and became executive director of the New Jersey Right to Life Committee, a part-time role.

In 1978, while working at his family's sporting goods store, 25-year-old Smith ran for Congress as a Republican.

He lost to longtime Democratic incumbent U.S. Congressman Frank Thompson 61%–37%.

With the race now considered competitive, Republicans considered replacing Smith, but two alternative candidates seen as more competitive, Hamilton mayor John K. Rafferty and 1978 Senate nominee Jeff Bell, declined.

Helped by Ronald Reagan's strong performance in the district, Smith defeated Thompson 57%–41%.

In 1980, Smith ran against Thompson again.

Initially, Smith was thought to have a very slim chance of winning, but Thompson was indicted as part of the FBI's Abscam probe.

It was widely assumed that Smith's 1980 victory over the scandal-plagued Thompson was a fluke, and that he would lose to the better-known Merlino.

At the end of one of their debates, Smith approached Merlino to exchange pleasantries.

Merlino was quoted as saying "Beat it, kid."

During the campaign, Merlino ran a negative ad comparing Smith to Jimmy Stewart's character in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

In response, Stewart released a statement endorsing Smith and denouncing the ad: "When I played Mr. Smith in that picture, I did not think he was a naive hick. I thought he believed in honesty and integrity in government, the right of the people and the love of his country."

Merlino pulled the ad.

Smith won the race with 52.7% of the vote.

In 1982, Smith's district was redrawn to include more Democratic voters and his Democratic opponent was former New Jersey Senate President Joseph P. Merlino, who had directly controlled the redistricting process and run a competitive campaign for governor the year before.

Subsequently, a federal court found the 1982 redistricting was impermissible gerrymandering, and Smith's district was redrawn to more closely resemble the one used in 1980.

He has not faced another contest that close since.

This was Smith's closest election since 1982.

From 1984 to 2016, Smith won reelection with over 60% of the vote.

From 1993 to 2019, he was the top House Republican on the United States Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

He has used his leadership positions, including chairmanships, to author multiple pieces of legislation focused on human rights and conduct aggressive oversight of human rights abuses, actions that have earned him scorn from abusing nations.

In November 1997, Smith was one of 18 House Republicans to co-sponsor a resolution by Bob Barr that sought to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton.

He has focused much of his career on promoting human rights abroad, including authoring the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 and several follow-on laws.

In 2006, Smith's 66% was the highest percentage for any Republican in the New Jersey delegation.

In 2008, Smith defeated college history professor Joshua M. Zeitz, 66%–32%.

In 2010, Smith received 69.4% of the vote, ahead of Democratic nominee Howard Kleinhendler, Libertarian nominee Joe Siano, Green Party nominee Steven Welzer, and American Renaissance Movement nominee David Meiswinkle.

Smith was ranked the 17th most bipartisan member of the House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the second most bipartisan from New Jersey) in the Bipartisan Index by the Lugar Center.

In 2018, Smith defeated Democratic nominee Joshua Welle with 55% of the vote to Welle's 43%.

In 2020, Smith defeated Democratic nominee Stephanie Schmid.

In 2022, Smith defeated Democratic nominee Matthew Jenkins with 66.9% of the vote.