Politics & Government

Wyckoff Congressional Candidate Crosses $2M Mark In Campaign Contributions

Democrat Josh Gottheimer's campaign has raised more than $600,000 in the first quarter of 2016, his campaign said.

WYCKOFF, N.J. – Congressional candidate Josh Gottheimer has raised $600,000 in the first three months of the year.

That amount puts the Democratic challenger in the 5th District over the $2 million mark since his election bid kicked off last year, Gottheimer’s campaign confirmed Monday. Gottheimer’s opponent, longtime incumbent Scott Garrett, still holds a sizeable money lead over him.

Gottheimer, a social Democrat from Wyckoff, had received more than $1.4 million as of Dec. 31, Federal Election Commission records show. Most of that, nearly $1.3 million, came from individual contributors.

Find out what's happening in Wyckofffor free with the latest updates from Patch.

David Wasserman, House editor for the Cook Political Report, told The Record that while “it’s a fine total” It isn’t “earth-shattering.”

Wasserman said he has seen dozens of House candidates bring in as much or more money than Gottheimer has and lose.

Find out what's happening in Wyckofffor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Garrett, by comparison, had only received a little more than $700,000 in contributions in the first quarter, but had nearly $2.4 million in cash on hand, FEC records show.

Alpine resident and comedian Chris Rock and former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli each donated $1,000.

Gottheimer is a former corporate strategist for Microsoft and speechwriter for President Bill Clinton.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Sign up for Patch N.J. email newsletters here.

Pictured: Rep. Scott Garrett, left, and Josh Gottheimer.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.