NJ District 4 Primary Results: Josh Welle Beats Jim Keady

COLTS NECK, NJ — Josh Welle has been declared victorious over Jim Keady in the Democratic primary for New Jersey's fourth district congressional seat.

Welle, pictured in the center, was declared the winner just after 9 p.m. by Politico, receiving 14,177 votes to Keady's 10,490. Politico called the race with 80 percent of the 517 precincts reporting, with 24,667 votes in. (Those are not the final vote tallies.)

Welle, a self-described centrist Democrat, will now face Republican Congressman Chris Smith in the general election in November. Smith has represented New Jersey's 4th District for decades, since 1981. He's a staunch Republican, and the area is reliably Republican, having voted for Republican presidents in the past four elections: Trump, Romney, McCain and Bush.

The 4th District includes nearly all of Monmouth County, from Holmdel on south, into Jackson, Plumstead and Point Pleasant in Ocean County and a small sliver of Mercer County (Hamilton and Robbinsville).

But there is a strong progressive element to the fourth district as well, and some think 2018, riding a blue wave of anti-Trump sentiment, could be the year a Democrat could finally unseat Smith.

Smith ran unopposed in today's primary.

Josh Welle in a nutshell:

Welle, 38, above, is a Democrat with a military background. He grew up in Wall Township and attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He was deployed four times, serving in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. He returned to the U.S. to launch a software company. He also edited a bestselling nonfiction book, "In the Shadow of Greatness," which Tom Brokaw called, "A must-read for all Americans," according to his candidate website. He used to live outside Washington, D.C., but now lives in Rumson. He describes himself as a centrist.

Congressman Chris Smith in a nutshell:

Smith, pictured above, is a staunch Republican, and usually backs fiscally conservative policies meant to lower taxes.

However, he was one of the few Republicans to vote against Trump's tax reform bill, saying it would hurt New Jersey property owners. He takes his Catholic faith seriously, which he says is the main reason why he is against abortion. It was Smith who introduced one of the nation's most controversial abortion bills to date in 2017, which would prohibit the use of federal funds for abortion or health plans that cover abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is in danger. Smith has advocated for defunding Planned Parenthood and was also in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Throughout his long career in Washington, Smith has authored many pieces of legislation that became laws with wide bipartisan support, such as the International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders and the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2014, according to The Trentonian.

One longstanding criticism of Smith is that he doesn't technically live in the district he represents: Smith bought a townhome in the D.C. suburbs years ago and that's where he and his wife raised their four children. He rents an apartment in Hamilton Township, has a New Jersey driver's license, pays state taxes and votes here. Smith has said he has to live in Virginia so he can be close to Washington for congressional duties, and said he moved his family down there because it was difficult for him not seeing his wife and children often.

Another criticism of Smith is that he hasn't held a public Town Hall with his constituents in decades.

The general election is scheduled for November 6.