“Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski has worked with both Republicans and Democrats to keep us safe, has stood up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, and has helped forge peace while at the National Security Council. Tom’s deep knowledge and integrity will serve this community well. These results show Tom’s campaign is firing on all cylinders, and he is in excellent position to win this November.” –DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján
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To: Interested Parties
From: Evan Lukaske, DCCC regional press secretary
Date: June 5, 2018
Re: The Case Against Leonard Lance
The primary results in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District put Democrats in a strong position to flip this swing seat. The general election pits former Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski against weak, back-benching career politician Congressman Leonard Lance, whose real voting record is vastly out of touch with this district. Put simply, Malinowski has accomplished more without being an elected official than Lance has with that supposed influence. Malinowski has earned national acclaim for standing up to dictators and worked with Senator John McCain to ban torture. It’s a stark contrast with Lance, who has failed to deliver results, and who has consistently voted to repeal health care, to defund Planned Parenthood and against common sense gun violence prevention measures.
One of only twenty-five districts that voted for Secretary Clinton and elected a Republican, this suburban and highly educated district is ready for change. With unprecedented grassroots energy, Malinowski’s impressive profile and Lance’s weak and out-of-touch record, Democrats are in strong position to flip this seat this November.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Rep. Leonard Lance is in a more competitive race and is now the New Jersey incumbent most in danger of losing his seat in November, according to a Washington-based publication that tracks congressional races.” [Star-Ledger, 3/16/18]
“[Lance] is in a district where the demographics line up with the kind of district that is prime to flip in the current environment.” [InsiderNJ, 5/4/18]
The tax bill is an assault on blue states, and Lance’s objections didn’t stop it. The House passed the Obamacare repeal, again over his objections… Does anyone believe that Lance’s vote in the House had a scrap of influence in the Senate?” [Star-Ledger, 3/25/18]
“…Lance has adopted a ‘weathervane” voting pattern. That is, voting whichever way will get him the votes to stay in office.” [InsiderNJ, 5/4/18]
HEADLINE: The Man Who Argued With Dictators [Politico, 6/19/2017]
LEONARD LANCE: INEFFECTIVE OUT-OF-TOUCH CAREER POLITICIAN
Can’t Deliver on Gateway
After more than a decade in Congress, Lance has failed to deliver on the Gateway Tunnel Project, the most important infrastructure project in New Jersey and the country. Despite the Gateway Tunnel Project’s importance to “30 percent of all jobs in the U.S.,” the White House and House Republicans have repeatedly tried to kill it and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao reneged on a previous federal-state funding deal.
While retiring Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, in his role as chair of the Appropriations Committee, has used legislative slight-of-hand to secure some funding (though far less than initially budgeted), the funding for the vast majority of the $30 billion project remains uncertain, in part due to continued resistance from national Republicans and the Trump Administration.
Though Lance lists Gateway as a “win” on his website, his evidence is extremely thin, consisting of taking meetings and giving floor speeches, not legislative action. Notably, in 2010 Lance supported former Governor Chris Christie’s decision to kill the ARC (Access to Region’s Core) tunnel project, the predecessor to Gateway, even though construction was underway.
Lance’s paltry efforts on Gateway will be a major issue this fall. The tunnel’s future remains uncertain, and Lance will have the impossible task of convincing voters to reelect a career politician who can’t get anything done on their behalf.
True Right-Wing Record
Given his district’s leftward shift in 2016, Lance has been desperately trying to tack to the center. His voting record, however, tells a more right-wing story.
Lance voted more than 60 times to either fully repeal the Affordable Care Act and/or gut its core provisions. As recently as February 2016, Lance was touting his work to pass an ACA repeal bill that President Obama vetoed, saying, “our actions have laid the necessary groundwork for a full repeal and replacement of Obamacare with a new administration in 2017.” Last year, Lance played a pivotal role in Republican attempts to repeal health care, voting to advance the health care repeal bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
His record on women’s health care is just as dismal. Lance has repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood, and advocated for splitting Planned Parenthood into two separate entities, one for “health services” and one for “abortion.” Not only does that false premise ignore that a woman’s right to choose is a health issue, but it is deeply out of touch with the constituents in this highly educated district.
Lance voted to block the Social Security Administration from sharing gun purchase information with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System on people with mental disorders, voted against an effort to force a vote on background checks and voted against lifting the ban on research into gun violence.
Owns the Republican Agenda
Make no mistake—voters will hold Lance accountable for a Republican agenda that increases taxes and hikes health care premiums on many Garden State families.
The Republican Tax Plan, a massive giveaway to big corporations and the rich, hurts New Jersey more than any other state in the country. A key cause of the financial pain is the capping of the state and local tax deduction, a major tax break that saves Garden State families thousands of dollars per year. Incredibly, 53% of filers in NJ-07 claim the SALT deduction—the third highest percentage of any district in the entire country.
An April Monmouth poll found that voters in GOP-held House districts in New Jersey have a decidedly negative view of the GOP Tax Scam, with 46% of residents disapproving to 42% approving. 47% expected their federal taxes to go up.
Lance played a significant role in passing the health care repeal bill, voting for it as a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Following the vote, he did an interview where he refused to admit that the committee held zero hearings with expert witnesses or industry stakeholders, incorrectly declared that 5,000 of his constituents received healthcare on the ACA exchanges, and refused to say if the bill would bring down health care costs.
While the health care repeal bill ultimately failed in the Senate, it did succeed in causing massive spikes in New Jersey health care premiums. Directly citing uncertainty in health care markets due to the Republican effort to repeal the ACA, New Jersey’s largest health insurer hiked premium rates an average of 24% for 2018.
Unfortunately, the damage is just getting started. The Congressional Budget Office released a report this May showing that health insurance premiums will again rise about 15% next year largely due to the actions of Congressional Republicans and President Trump.
THE PATH TO VICTORY
New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District is a highly educated, affluent, suburban district, one of only twenty-five districts that voted for Secretary Clinton and currently have a Republican member of Congress. The district is 39% more affluent than the state average and the number of constituents with college degrees is 41% higher than the state average. Although John McCain and Mitt Romney each carried the district easily, Secretary Clinton narrowly won the district in 2016.
Former Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski is in excellent position to flip this seat. A national security and foreign policy expert, Malinowski has earned national acclaim for standing up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, and worked with Senator John McCain to ban torture. His impressive background cuts across party lines and it’s no exaggeration to say Malinowski has accomplished more without elected office than Lance has with it.
Malinowski’s substantial network has enabled him to become the strongest Democratic fundraiser this district has ever seen. Malinowski ended the first quarter of 2018 with nearly $800,000, close on Lance’s heels.
Polling has shown Lance in trouble. A November PPP poll showed a generic Democrat leading Lance, 42%-41%. Furthermore, Lance’s job approval rating was underwater, with 47% of voters disapproving and only 32% of voters approving.