New Jersey's formerly Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew took careful aim and shot his own foot off last December with his decision not just to oppose the impeachment of Donald Trump for his acts against Ukraine and our democracy, primarily because he believed it would make his district's conservative voters mad, but to join the Republican Party to make sure those voters knew just how pliable he can be.
Many of Van Drew's congressional staffers quit, because of course they did. Now Van Drew's would-be 2020 campaign manager, who dumped Van Drew because Of Course, is taking a new job. Josh Roesch will now be managing the campaign of one of Van Drew's prominent challengers: Democrat Amy Kennedy. "I thought I was working for a Democrat," Roesch told NJ Advance Media. Now, he's working for a new one.
There may be some effort to spin this up as a rivalry between Van Drew and Roesch, or to frame Roesch's move as an effort to sabotage his one-time client. The truth is less flashy, as it's not likely that the two campaigns will ever clash directly. The brand new baby Republican Van Drew first has to fend off Republican primary challengers and a Republican base that wants considerably more froth and spittle than a mere opportunist can provide. Van Drew may have cozied up to Trump in a White House meeting, but he will still be branded a near-communist in the coming months.
Van Drew's strategy for winning reelection isn't looking any better today than it did in the days he first leaked it. We don't know who the next Congress member from South Jersey will be, but it's almost certainly not going to be him.
Donate now to make turncoat Jeff Van Drew pay for switching to the GOP.