GOP hopeful says he’ll move into 11th District to challenge Frelinghuysen

Martin Hewitt announces plans to challenge Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen in the 2018 GOP primary. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Martin Hewitt announces plans to challenge Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen in the 2018 GOP primary. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Martin Hewitt wants to represent the 11th District so much, he’ll even move here.

So proclaimed the East Brunswick attorney, speaking outside Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s (R-11th Dist.) Morristown office on Friday.

“I am searching now for an apartment, and hope to move sometime during the summer,” he said.

Describing himself as a “moderate’s moderate,”  Hewitt, 58, said he plans to challenge the 12-term Congressman in next year’s GOP primary. He staked out a progressive platform that would not have sounded out of place at the Democratic National Convention.

Hewitt said he left the Democratic party after the November election because its leaders told him to “wait your turn” to run for Congress.

And in this bedrock Republican district, the only way he sees to unseat Frelinghuysen–a former moderate who now prefers “playing golf with Donald Trump in Bedminster” over representing constituents–is to take him down in the GOP primary.

For that, Hewitt said he figures he must raise between $500,000 and $1 million. Frelinghuysen, 70, chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee and is among the wealthiest members of Congress.  Raising money has never been a problem for him.

Noting Hewitt’s residency in the 12th District, a Frelinghuysen spokesman on Friday suggested the challenger’s best service for Republicans “would be to run against Democrat Congresswoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman where he lives down in Middlesex County, instead of running up here.”

Frleinghuysen’s spokesman emphasized the Harding resident’s deep roots in Morris County, the heart of a district that includes parts of Sussex, Passaic and Essex counties.

“Congressman Frelinghuysen works very hard for his district year in and year out and works hard to earn the votes of each person he has represented during his time in public service, all the way back to his time on the Morris County Freeholder Board,” the spokesman said.

Martin Hewitt addresses activists outside Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen's office, July 7, 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Martin Hewitt addresses activists outside Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen’s office, July 7, 2017. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and former federal prosecutor, also has announced her candidacy for the 11th District–even though her Montclair home is a few blocks outside the district.

Although voters must vote where they reside, congressional candidates are not required to live in the districts they seek to represent.

Hewitt spoke before a gaggle of activists on hand for their weekly “Fridays Without Frelinghuysen” demonstration to press the Congressman to hold his first town hall meeting since 2013.

If elected, Hewitt vowed to stage weekly town halls for “anyone who wants to stop by and ask questions.” 

Obamacare “needs fixing, desperately. But it is not in a death spiral,” and can be improved by both sides “rolling up their sleeves and actually working it out.”

Repealing it and killing healthcare for 23 million people is not the answer, he said.

Raised in upstate New York, Hewitt earned his law degree at age 40 from Seton Hall University and has a private practice in securities law.

“I’ve been both a Republican and a Democrat in my life,” he said. “What that really means is I’m a moderate’s moderate. I want to get things done. I don’t want to be involved in tribal politics.”

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Dennis,
    Thanks for your note. Nothing disorderly about this group, nor was that intended by the descriptor “gaggle.” Rather, it was along these lines, per Webster’s :
    1: flock; especially : a flock of geese when not in flight — compare skein
    2: a group, aggregation, or cluster lacking organization a gaggle of reporters and photographers
    3: an indefinite number participated

  2. Kevin,
    I always appreciate your coverage of the events in and around Morristown, especially in the political arena. Thank you. Regarding this article about Martin Hewitt, I’m not so sure I would characterize the NJ 11th for Change group as a “gaggle” (gaggle: disorderly, noisy). While the group is still in its early stages, is evolving in its organization, and is appropriately at times “noisy,” I don’t think it’s accurate to identify them as disorderly.

    To NJ 11th for Change folks: Although I have participated in several of your “Fridays Without Frelinghuysen,” unfortunately, due to various and sundries I have not been able to be a regular. Keep up the great presence, keep up the noise!

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