Another day, another Republican In Name Only trying to throw President Trump under the bus to win over liberal voters. Joe Hathaway, the GOP candidate in Thursday's special election for New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, is desperately distancing himself from the America First movement while his Democrat opponent Analilia Mejia proudly embraces full-blown socialism.
The special election to fill Governor Mikie Sherrill's former House seat has become a perfect example of everything wrong with establishment Republicans who think they can win by running away from the policies that delivered Trump a decisive victory in 2024.
While Hathaway plays the role of apologetic Republican, his radical leftist opponent Mejia is pushing the same failed socialist agenda that has destroyed cities across America. The contrast couldn't be clearer - yet Hathaway seems more concerned with appeasing Never-Trump moderates than energizing the conservative base that actually votes in elections.
Deep State District Goes RINO
New Jersey's 11th District has been a Democrat stronghold, but that didn't stop local Republicans from nominating someone who apparently thinks the path to victory runs through criticizing the most successful Republican president in decades. This is the same backwards thinking that cost Republicans winnable races for years before Trump showed them how to actually fight and win.
The race has highlighted sharp divisions over Israel, with the candidates clashing on foreign policy as the Trump administration continues its strong support for our Middle Eastern ally. But instead of embracing Trump's successful peace-through-strength approach, Hathaway seems determined to chart his own course.
"This is exactly why Republicans kept losing before Trump showed us how to win. You don't victory by apologizing for conservative principles."
Patriots in New Jersey deserve better than a candidate who runs away from the America First agenda the moment things get challenging. The question is whether voters will reward this kind of political cowardice or send a message that the Republican Party belongs to the people, not the establishment consultants.
Will New Jersey Republicans learn that you can't out-liberal the liberals, or will they hand another seat to the socialist left?