NJ 4th District Congressional Election 2026: Chris Smith

The election for the 4th District seat in the House of Representatives pits Republican Chris Smith against Democrat Rachel Peace.

Patch asked the candidates three questions and is including their answers in candidate profiles.

Here are the responses from Smith, who is seeking his 24th term in the House.

Name: Chris Smith

Age: 73

Family: Wife Marie, married since 1977, four adult children.

Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration from Trenton State College, later renamed The College of New Jersey.

Occupation and employer: Director of institutional sales at his family-owned sporting goods company.

Any prior elected office: Elected to the House of Representatives in 1980, and has served continuously since 1981.

Campaign website: smith4nj.com/

What do you believe Congress can and needs to do to address health care affordability as premiums skyrocket and subsidies for those who sought coverage under the Affordable Care Act are slated to disappear?

I have worked tirelessly to expand access to affordable health care and improve the delivery of quality health care for all, especially and including those who need it most.

For instance, throughout my career, I have consistently supported funding for Medicare and Medicaid and expanding coverage to critical therapies through these programs — including Medicare coverage of diabetic shoes and comprehensive planning sessions for patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias — above and beyond the fundamental health care covered by both systems. And as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I led the way and successfully created or expanded numerous health care benefit programs for the men and women who served our nation including the creation of a new traumatic brain injury program for victims of IEDs and ensuring that all veterans receive their due care and coverage for service-connected
injuries. Beyond working to improve the broader veterans’ health care programs and policies, I am directly responsible for the establishment of three VA outpatient healthcare clinics in central NJ including the community-based clinics in Monmouth and Ocean. Each of these facilities accommodates tens of thousands of patient visits from our NJ veterans each year.

Similarly, I helped spearhead the establishment of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in my congressional district. Because of my work, these community-based clinics now receive critical federal funding to provide comprehensive primary medical care to underserved patients, with over 520,000 patient visits per year in Monmouth and Ocean counties. These facilities are especially important for children’s health care needs as they are treated compassionately and comprehensively — no matter
the family’s ability to pay.

I also led the charge for federal and state support for health care delivery exclusively for our senior and disabled population through the establishment of the first
ever Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) facility in our state. Since then, I have successfully worked to establish other PACE programs in my district and throughout
NJ including in both Ocean and Monmouth counties. These innovative, inclusive health care collaborations — funded primarily through Medicare and Medicaid — provide
comprehensive medical assistance and daily living support (such as transportation, meals etc) for older adults so they can stay in their homes and communities rather than move to nursing home care.

I think it is important to note that I continue to work to drive down the costs of prescription drugs for all Americans. I have been a long-time supporter of allowing government programs like the VA to purchase medicines for patients in bulk to reduce
costs. I also supported allowing American patients to purchase drugs through the mail at prices US companies offered overseas and I support the Trump Administration’s Most
Favored Nation program pricing on critical drugs, ensuring Americans are not needlessly overcharged for drugs to subsidize drug prices in places such as Europe.

Additionally, I have also led the fight to provide funding needed to combat Lyme disease — New Jersey has one of the highest incidences of Lyme across the country, with the diseases being endemic in all 21 counties of the state. I was the House sponsor of the original TICK Act which was enacted in 2019, which authorized $150 million in federal funding for Lyme initiatives and research. I am the House sponsor of the new law signed this month, the Kay Hagan Tick Act Reauthorization Act, which reauthorized $150 million more over the next five years in continued funding for Lyme
disease.

I am the author of 5 comprehensive laws that are dramatically helping children and families with autism, the latest being the Autism CARES Act of 2024, which authorizes $1.9 billion in federal funding for supports and services, including $306
million in annual funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In New Jersey, where 1 in 29 children receive an autism diagnosis by the age of 8 , this federal support has provided millions for treatments and early intervention. These programs make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and families living with autism, and contribute directly to an improved quality of life.

I am also the founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Alzheimer’s Caucus, and was the sponsor of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. As a result of this and other efforts,
Alzheimer’s research funding through the NIH has grown from $600 million in 2016, to more than $3.8 billion in 2026, and has yielded real advancements in our understandings of Alzheimer’s and other memory related diseases of the brain, and has led to new diagnostics and treatments to better identify and treat Alzheimer’s.

In all these programs, especially Medicare and Medicaid, it is absolutely critical to continue efforts to fight fraud and abuse. Tragically we have seen tens of thousands of recipients who are either deceased or receiving double coverage. Addressing these duplicative and improper payments is expected to achieve $738 million in taxpayer savings, and ensuring subsidies reach those Americans who are eligible for
coverage.

Additionally, Congress reformed Medicaid by instituting work and study requirements and preventing illegal immigrants from accessing improper benefits. By eliminating fraud in the healthcare system — $96.4 billion which has been identified since January 2025, including scams that bill Medicaid and Medicare for fake patients and services — more critical healthcare dollars will be available to cover patients who need the assistance most.

What should Congress do to improve affordability and what would you do to make that happen?

To help Americans keep and control more of their hard-earned money — so they can afford the items they want and need — I voted for the Working Families Tax Cuts which prevented a 21 percent tax increase on Americans. This significant bill also increased State and Local Tax Relief (SALT) by raising the cap from $10,000 to $40,000 — a critical deduction for New Jerseyans who are struggling under burdensome state and property taxes. The legislation also increased the Child Tax Credit to $2,500 per child, instituted no taxes on tips, provided tax relief for seniors, and strengthened the Family Leave, Medical Leave Tax Credits and the Child Care Tax Credit making it easier for working families to take care of loved ones and access child care. And, if New Jersey changes its law to join the more than 30 other states, parent in our state can also be eligible for funding under the Education Freedom Tax Credit to send their child to a new school, pay for private tutoring, or provide educational support for eligible activities including afterschool programs and special-needs services.

I also supported legislation to provide housing reform, a key component of which barred large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, protecting supply for families seeking to buy their first home.

It’s important to note that two of the largest drivers of unaffordability have been the unchecked spending under President Biden and the irresponsible prioritization of
green energy projects such as offshore wind — at the exclusion of all others. This approach has driven up the costs of energy for Americans. Billions of taxpayer dollars
were sent to foreign companies to prop up unproven and inefficient energy sources.

New Jersey has gone even further, with then Governor Murphy committing to 100 percent green energy and closing power plants, escalating costs of energy here at home. I have fought these programs both in Washington and in NJ — petitioning the BPU — with the goals of protecting our national security and reducing the financial burdens state and BPU policies are placing on the New Jersey ratepayers, who are also taxpayers.

It has been months since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. What is your plan to ensure the Justice Department complies with the law?

Since 2000, when I wrote our Nation’s landmark law to combat human sex and labor trafficking, I have been one of the strongest, most vocal and tenacious fighters against this heinous crime — a modern day slavery that primarily targets women and children. It is my law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 —which, for the first time, gave the federal government the tools it needed to arrest and charge human trafficking thugs like Jeffery Epstein — and put him in jail. Epstein was prosecuted exclusively using my law. His coconspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted under my
law and is now serving 20 years for her horrific crimes. In fact, to date, more than 5,200 trafficking thugs have been convicted under my law—giving hope, freedom and justice to tens of thousands of victims.

I voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act and support the release of all documents with protections in place for the victims. I work with trafficking victims every day — and have met personally with Epstein’s victims. I will continue to support the release of information regarding these crimes, including any information surrounding conspirators. My priority continues to be protecting the victims and should Congress need to take further action, I would support it — provided the proper precautions are in place to protect the names and identities of the victims — a request the victims continue to make.

I am also working to pass new trafficking legislation — the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025. This legislation, which would be my sixth anti-human trafficking law when signed,
strengthens and expands upon my previous anti-human trafficking laws of 2000, 2003, 2006, 2016, and 2019.

The Frederick Douglass Act is most survivor-informed legislation ever emphasizing programs and lessons learned from the survivors themselves. The bill will also reauthorize and strengthen key anti-human trafficking programs across the federal government and promote anti-trafficking strategies and situational awareness training for students and educators. The United States must continue to lead in the global fight against human trafficking.