Democrat Won't Connect Other Republicans To Controversial Comment

At least one Democrat doesn’t think all Republicans should be held accountable for comments made by Congressional candidate Seth Grossman: Grossman’s opponent State Sen. Jeff Van Drew.

Grossman has grabbed national attention for comments he made that "diversity is a bunch of crap." Much of it is negative, and he has drawn the ire of some members of his own party, including former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Republican State Committee Chairman Doug Steinhardt.

Last week, Atlantic County Democrats called on the Republican candidates for county freeholder to condemn Grossman’s comments.

One Democrat who won’t make that connection is Van Drew, who told The New Jersey Globe that every individual should stand up for what they believe in.

“I’ve never liked – just the reverse, ‘oh a Democrat somewhere in Idaho did something really foolish and therefore Jeff Van Drew is responsible for the same thing.’ I don’t necessarily always agree with that,” Van Drew told the website. ‘Stand up for what you believe is right, whether you agree with your party or not.”
Van Drew made it clear that he doesn’t agree with Grossman’s comments, in which he indicated that it is because of the notion of diversity that some people who are less qualified get positions ahead of those who may be more qualified.

Van Drew and Grossman are running for the Second Congressional District seat that has long been held by moderate Republican Frank LoBiondo. LoBiondo announced he wouldn't seek re-election in November after serving in Congress since he was first elected in 1994.

Libertarian John Ordille and independents Steven Fenichel, Anthony Parisi Sanchez and William Benfer are also running for the seat.

The Second Congressional District covers all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties, and parts of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

The attached image of Jeff Van Drew was posted on the New Jersey Legislature's website.