Kinnelon lawyer Larry Casha on Tuesday quit his campaign to unseat Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.), endorsing Rosemary Becchi to represent the GOP.
The tax attorney from Short Hills has the “integrity, intelligence and gravitas” to defeat Sherrill and “be a Congresswoman we can be proud of,” Casha said in a statement.
Becchi, who co-authored the “529 college savings plans” as tax counsel on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, is switching districts for this race.
The former IRS attorney last year announced plans to challenge state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. in this spring’s GOP primary, for the right to take on incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in the 7th District in November.
Now, she’s taking aim at Sherrill, a Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor who is serving her first term in Washington.
“Mikie Sherrill has failed our families by standing with Nancy Pelosi’s partisan impeachment effort instead of fixing the problems that have made New Jersey simply unaffordable for average families, seniors and our young people — the future of our economy,” Becchi said in a statement.
She charged that the Democrat from Montclair has voted with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “98 percent of the time,” including measures Becchi claims have weakened immigration laws and hurt veterans and the military.
Becchi pledged to fight “foolhardy” attempts to expand Medicare for all, and to oppose “misguided, economy-killing regulations proposed in radical plans to address climate change.”
A Sherrill spokesperson fired back:
“We look forward to contrasting Mikie’s lifetime of service in the Navy, as a federal prosecutor, and as a Member of Congress fighting for New Jersey taxpayers to Rosemary’s record as a corporate lobbyist.
“Rosemary has spent her career helping corporate special interests push more of the tax burden onto New Jersey taxpayers. New Jersey deserves a Congresswoman who fights for our country and our families — not a corporate lobbyist who works on behalf of special interest groups.”
Becchi was praised by Kean as a “savvy, formidable candidate” and by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as good news for Americans seeking to “change directions from partisanship to solutions.”
Becchi specializes in tax matters for the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. She is the state chair of Maggie’s List, which promotes political candidacies of conservative women. Previously, she chaired Running Start, another organization that advocates for women candidates, and the Tax Coalition.
A married mother of three daughters, Becchi spends her spare time at the girls’ hockey games and dances, and preparing for Sunday dinners with her extended family, according to her statement.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with comments from Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s campaign.
