Republican congressional nominee Michael McGuire is making the government shutdown, affordability, and congressional accountability central to his campaign against freshman Rep. Herb Conaway (D-Delran), arguing that the Democratic incumbent has spent decades in public office without delivering enough for his constituents.
McGuire, a Marine veteran, former New York City police officer and Navy reservist, said the government shutdown that began October 1, particularly its impact on military personnel at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, helped motivate his challenge to Conaway in New Jersey’s 3rd district.
“A lot of the Navy reserves, 22-year-olds, went three months without pay, without money for gas and living expenses, all because Herb Conaway wanted to shut down the government,” McGuire said.
The shutdown disrupted federal operations and created uncertainty over pay for military personnel and civilian employees. Active-duty service members kept reporting for duty, but the risk of missed paychecks put added pressure on military families.
McGuire wants members of Congress to feel some of that financial pressure.
“Congress will not and should not get paid unless there’s a balanced budget,” he said.
McGuire portrays Conaway, a physician who spent 26 years in the New Jersey Assembly before winning his congressional seat in 2024, as a career politician whose record illustrates the failures of the political establishment.
“The pure definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and that’s exactly what’s been going on with Herb Conaway since 1998,” McGuire said.
He describes Conaway as a far-left Democrat, although he acknowledges that the congressman has worked with Republicans on some issues. McGuire argues that some of those bipartisan agreements have made life more expensive for New Jersey residents, singling out increases in the state gas tax and changes to public employee pensions.
“Bipartisan voted to increase your gas tax,” McGuire said. “Bipartisanly voted for any state worker or anyone else who gets a pension in the state of New Jersey, that you don’t get COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) in your pensions anymore.”
The gas tax increase came in 2016, when lawmakers approved a bipartisan transportation funding package that raised motor fuel taxes to finance infrastructure improvements while reducing other state taxes. The Assembly approved the legislation, 53-23.
Lawmakers enacted the pension changes in 2011 as part of a bipartisan overhaul signed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. The law increased employee contributions and suspended automatic cost-of-living adjustments for retirees until specified pension funding thresholds were met.
The changes affected retirees in state-administered pension systems, including teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees.
McGuire has also focused on housing affordability, supporting portable mortgages that would let homeowners transfer existing mortgage terms to a new property rather than surrender a lower interest rate when they move.
“I’m a big fan of portable mortgages,” he said.
He has also criticized rising gasoline prices amid the war in Iran, returning to Conaway’s 2016 gas tax vote as evidence that the congressman lacks credibility on affordability. McGuire characterized the situation in Iran as “the consequences of doing something about it.”
McGuire faces a difficult political landscape in a district that became considerably more Democratic following congressional redistricting ahead of the 2022 elections.
The 3rd district, which includes portions of Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth counties, was represented by a Republican as recently as 2018, when its boundaries included more heavily Republican communities in Ocean County.
Under the current map, Kamala Harris carried the district by eight percentage points in 2024, the same year Conaway won his first congressional term by defeating Republican Rajesh Mohan, 53%-45%.
The district backed Gov. Mikie Sherrill by 15 percentage points in 2025. Its closest recent gubernatorial contest came in 2021, when Gov. Phil Murphy carried the district by just two points over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, based on the current boundaries.
McGuire has received little assistance from the National Republican Congressional Committee or the New Jersey Republican Party, and national Republicans have shown little interest in investing heavily in the race.
Still, McGuire points to his third-quarter fundraising as evidence that his campaign is gaining traction. Conaway raised $176,104 during the quarter, compared with $131,335 for McGuire, putting the Republican challenger within roughly $45,000 of the incumbent.
McGuire also argues that political fundraising demands have become an obstacle to effective government, forcing lawmakers to spend too much time raising money instead of legislating.
He calls it the “bureaucracy of chasing money” and wants to overhaul campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of wealthy donors and outside political organizations.
“I think the PACs and the Super PACs need to end; that’s the biggest thing,” McGuire stated. “Super PACs are basically a backdoor to unlimited funding for campaigns.”
