Civil rights attorney Tim Alexander, now on his third campaign for New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district, got an important endorsement today from the man who leads the district’s largest Democratic organization.
Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Michael Suleiman said that of the four Democrats running against Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), Alexander “has earned strong support and trust at the local level.” Suleiman cautioned, however, that his endorsement comes in his personal capacity, and the Atlantic County Democrats will be able to make their own decision when they hold their convention next March.
“Tim’s strong name recognition throughout the 2nd district, coupled with his grassroots support across all six counties, makes him a strong candidate to flip this seat,” Suleiman said in a statement. “I’ve known Tim and his wife Anna to be consistently tenacious advocates and organizers for downballot Democrats all across South Jersey. In speaking with Tim, he assured me that his campaign will adopt a more direct and no-nonsense approach to communication, while prioritizing fundraising efforts to support the effective delivery of his message.”
Alexander, a Galloway resident, received the endorsement of the Atlantic County Democrats during both his 2022 and 2024 campaigns, and is the early favorite to do so once again this year.
But while party backing propelled him to the nomination in 2022, it wasn’t enough to do the same in 2024, when self-funding Democrat Joe Salerno substantially outspent Alexander and eked out a primary win despite having far less official party support. In a post-county line world, where primary ballots no longer display a clear preference towards party-backed candidates, official party endorsements may mean even less in 2026.
Three other Democrats – Bill Finn, Terri Reese, and Bayly Winder – have launched campaigns for the district; Winder has substantially outraised Alexander thus far, likely making him Alexander’s chief competition for the nomination. A former USAID official who grew up elsewhere in New Jersey but now lives in Atlantic County, Winder pushed back on Suleiman’s decision to endorse Alexander.
“New Jersey voters have consistently rejected party bosses trying to shape outcomes with backroom deals,” Winder said. “I hope every county committee in NJ-2 commits to a fair, transparent endorsement process without chairs putting a thumb on the scale.”
No matter who wins the primary, though, Democrats are not enormously optimistic about their chances of beating Van Drew, who flipped the seat as a Democrat in 2018 but has held it as a Republican in the three election cycles since then, defeating Salerno by 17 points in 2024 and Alexander by 19 points in 2022.
A national Democratic group circulated a poll earlier this year finding Van Drew to be potentially vulnerable, but even amid last month’s Democratic wave election, Republican Jack Ciattarelli still carried the district by a 53%-46% margin.
