Jeff Van Drew

Jefferson H. Van Drew (born February 23, 1953) is an American politician and dentist serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 2nd congressional district since 2019.

He was a Dennis Township Fire Commissioner from 1983 to 1986.

Van Drew served on the Dennis Township Committee in 1991, and as mayor from 1994 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2003.

He served on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1994 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2002.

In 1994, as a Cape May County Freeholder, Van Drew made support for a local community college a major campaign issue.

He represented New Jersey's 1st legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2008, and represented the same district in the New Jersey Senate from 2008 to 2018.

In 2002, ground was broken on the site of the future Atlantic Cape Community College campus in Cape May County.

Van Drew was a member of the Democratic Party while a local officeholder.

Van Drew represented the 1st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2008.

On November 6, 2007, Van Drew was elected to the New Jersey Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Nicholas Asselta.

He represented the same district in the New Jersey Senate from 2008 to 2018.

He was a Democrat during this period.

In 2008, he sponsored the Fair Market Drug Pricing Act to establish the "New Jersey Rx Card Program to reduce prescription drug prices."

President Barack Obama won the district in 2008 and 2012, and President Donald Trump won in 2016.

In November 2011, Van Drew defeated Republican challenger David S. DeWeese, 24,557 votes to 20,857.

He was reelected in 2013, defeating Upper Township Republican businesswoman Susan Adelizzi Schmidt by 20 points.

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district had been represented by Republican Frank LoBiondo since 1995, who served 11 terms before announcing his retirement on November 7, 2017.

The district is the southernmost in New Jersey and the state's largest by area, encompassing rural farms from Salem County to the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City.

On November 29, 2017, Van Drew announced he would run for the open seat, aiming "to bring economic opportunity and good jobs to South Jersey."

Eight county chairs in the district endorsed him, as did New Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross.

Van Drew was the Democratic nominee in New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the 2018 election.

He was elected with 52.9% of the vote to Republican Seth Grossman's 45.2%.

After opposing the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Van Drew joined the Republican Party shortly afterward.

For the 2018–19 session, Van Drew served in the Senate on the Community and Urban Affairs Committee (as chair), the Military and Veterans' Affairs (as vice chair), the Joint Committee on Housing Affordability and the Intergovernmental Relations Commission.

Upon LoBiondo's retirement announcement, The Cook Political Report changed the district's rating in the 2018 midterms from "Safe Republican" to "Toss-Up".

In February 2018, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Van Drew in its Red to Blue program, which provided resources and donors to candidates in districts that were targeted to be flipped from Republican to Democratic.

In the June 5 primary, Van Drew faced William Cunningham, Tanzie Youngblood, and Nate Kleinman.

Sean Thom dropped out ahead of the primary.

As of May 16, Van Drew had raised $412,555 for his campaign.

Van Drew won the primary with 55.4% of the vote.

The same night, former Atlantic County Freeholder Seth Grossman won the Republican nomination.

After Van Drew's primary win, The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball changed the district's rating to "Likely Democratic".

In the November 6 general election, Van Drew defeated Grossman, 52.9%-45.2%.

Formerly a Democrat, he has been a member of the Republican Party since 2020.

Before being elected to Congress, Van Drew held several public offices, including fire commissioner, town committee member, Mayor of Dennis Township, New Jersey, and Cape May County Freeholder.

He was reelected in 2020, defeating Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy.

Van Drew later supported the unsuccessful attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.

Van Drew was born in New York City.

He graduated with a B.S. from Rutgers University and received a D.M.D. degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Van Drew operated a dental practice in South Jersey for 30 years before retiring.