The top two elected officials in Lambertville, a small Hunterdon County city along the Delaware River that punches above its weight in Democratic politics, have endorsed former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett for New Jersey’s 7th congressional district.
Lambertville Mayor Andrew Nowick and Council President Benedetta Lambert, whose husband is a member of the local Lambert family, both said today that Bennett is the best Democratic choice to challenge Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).
“Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett brings a clear vision and a deep understanding of the challenges facing families and small towns across our district,” Nowick said in a statement. “Her commitment to service, her dedication to her community, and her ability to bring people together make her the right choice to represent New Jersey’s 7th congressional district.”
Lambertville is only home to around 4,000 people, but it’s a local hub for arts and politics (Sue Altman, last year’s Democratic nominee for the 7th district, lives there). It’s also the 7th district’s single bluest municipality, supporting Mikie Sherrill for governor earlier this month by a whopping 81%-19% margin.
Nowick and Lambert are Bennett’s first two endorsers from Hunterdon County; a number of other Hunterdon Democrats, including most local councilpeople in Flemington and this year’s nominees for county commissioner, are instead supporting a rival Democratic candidate, Brian Varela.
Any and all endorsements will be helpful for winning the endorsement of the Hunterdon Democratic organization when it meets for its convention early next year. Then again, with the county line now defunct, that endorsement will mean less than it once did for the nine Democrats hoping to win the nomination in the 7th district.
