In 2020, New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew attacked his Democrat opponent, Amy Kennedy, for wanting to “defund the police.”
Kennedy never used those words, instead expressing openness to some ideas that have been championed under that slogan, such as “reallocating funds to make healthy communities.” But Van Drew’s line of attack may have helped him win reelection by a relatively comfortable margin, as the phrase backfired for some Democrats across the country.
Van Drew could face a challenger in 2022 who might not be as vulnerable to such charges: A Black man who as a teenager was shot at, beaten and arrested by three white police officers in Newark in a case of mistaken identity — then went on to a decadeslong career in law enforcement.
Tim Alexander, a 55-year-old political newcomer, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd District to challenge Van Drew, the Democrat-turned-Republican who pledged his “undying support” in late 2019 to then-President Donald Trump and has arguably become the state delegation’s most controversial member.
The 2nd District, which includes all or parts of eight counties, covers a wide swath of southern New Jersey, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean west to the Delaware River. A swing district, it voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and then Trump in 2016 and in 2020.
