NJ's 4th District Congressional Race: Smith Vs. Peace

Voters in New Jersey's 4th Congressional District are being asked to choose between long-time incumbent Republican Chris Smith and Democrat Rachel Peace.

Smith, 73, is seeking his 24th term in the House of Representatives, where he began serving in 1981, 12 years before Peace, 33, was born.

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Smith has served in the district through multiple changes to its makeup, but it has been a Republican stronghold for most of that time. It currently includes 40 towns in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

His biography on his House of Representatives website includes many of his policy stances and involvement. He is staunchly anti-abortion and is the chair of the Pro-Life Caucus in the House of Representatives. He also has pushed through legislation to help combat Lyme disease and fought for support for families of those with Alzheimer's disease and for individuals with autism. Smith has pushed relentlessly to fight human trafficking, particularly in China, and legislation to support military veterans.

Locally, he helped get approval for$23.8 million in federal funding for infrastructure and humanitarian projects in Monmouth and Ocean counties in 2026.

Smith also has spoken out against artificial intelligence data centers in recent weeks.

Peace is a 2010 graduate of Brick Memorial High School and a 2014 graduate of Hofstra University.

Her policy agenda on her campaign website includes fighting to guarantee health care, paid family leave, and child care to support families. "I believe in fulfilling America's decades-old promise: to recognize healthcare as a right, not a privilege," she writes. She wants to see efforts to improve coastal resilience and protect against flooding, while also making efforts to improve renewable energy.

To address affordability issues, Peace said she wants to see the federal minimum wage increased to a living wage, reforms to make housing more affordable, and home ownership more attainable. She also wants to see the student loan system fixed.

Peace also said she wants an end to the war in Iran, calling it "a total disregard for international and constitutional law," and "a burden placed on working Americans every time they go to get gas."

She also seeks to block data centers and regulate artificial intelligence, and all the efforts to support seniors and veterans.

NJ 4th District Towns

The Ocean County towns in the 4th District are: Bay Head, Beachwood, Berkeley Township (part; also 2nd District; includes Holiday City-Berkeley, Holiday City South, Holiday Heights, and Silver Ridge), Brick Township, Island Heights, Jackson Township, Lacey Township (part; also 2nd; includes Forked River), Lakehurst, Lakewood Township, Lavallette, Manchester Township, Mantoloking, Ocean Gate, Pine Beach, Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant, Plumsted Township, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park, South Toms River, Toms River.

The Monmouth County towns in the 4th District are: Avon-By-The-Sea, Belmar, Brielle, Colts Neck Township, Eatontown, Farmingdale, Freehold Township (part; also 3rd District), Howell Township, Lake Como, Manasquan, Middletown Township (part; also 6th; includes Lincroft, Navesink, and part of Belford, Fairview, North Middletown, and Port Monmouth), Ocean Township, Sea Girt, Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury Township, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Tinton Falls, Wall Township.