Congress Candidate Josh Welle Joins Jon Stewart At Count Basie

RED BANK, NJ — Monmouth County resident Jon Stewart performed at Count Basie in Red Bank Sunday night, where Democratic candidate for Congress Josh Welle saw an opportunity to garner some attention.

Welle stood up in the audience last night, and asked Smith the following: “In an age of so much division, we have divisiveness in our own democratic party between what a liberal means and what a progressive is. We have division between Republicans and Democrats. What social justice issue do you think can unify us, not just here in Red Bank, Howell, Hamilton across Central Jersey, but across the nation?”

As we've reported, Stewart and his wife live in Red Bank and own farms in Middletown and Colts Neck.

Welle, a Democrat, is running to unseat the area's longtime Congressman, Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican. The battle is for representation of New Jersey's 4th congressional district. The 4th district includes nearly all of Monmouth County, including Middletown, Colts Neck, Rumson and Marlboro, part of northern Ocean County and a small sliver (Hamilton) of Mercer County.

Smith, the Republican, has represented the 4th District for 37 years. Welle, 38, is a Democrat with a military background. He grew up in Wall Township and attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He was deployed with the Navy four times, serving in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He returned to the U.S. to launch a software company. It has been only recently that he returned to Monmouth County: He lived outside D.C., but bought a home in Rumson before he decided to run for the congressional seat.

Smith joked about the complexity of the question, first saying "How much time do I have?" He also called Smith "a guy who’s just nonsense.”

But Stewart then turned serious and thanked Welle for running as a veteran. He also invited Welle to join him on stage at the Count Basie. Watch the entire exchange below.

The election between Welle and Smith will be Nov. 6.