President Trump and House Republicans cheered when Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey joined their ranks midway through his first term. But Van Drew’s voting record since then hasn’t been that of a down-the-line Republican.
As a Democrat first elected to an open seat in southern New Jersey in 2018, Van Drew was one of two in his party to oppose Trump’s impeachment. That approach aggravated Democrats in his district, and after torrents of criticism at home, Van Drew became a rare party-switching member of Congress, making the change official on Jan. 7.
At the time, the dentist and former state senator pledged to remain bipartisan, representing a district narrowly favoring Republicans. As a Democrat in 2019, he voted in line with the party most of the time. Since becoming a House Republican, he has sided with the minority GOP at about a 66% clip.
So in just over a month as a House Republican, Van Drew hasn’t exactly become a Make America Great Again-style Trump sycophant.
Van Drew, 66, has opposed a series of proposals pushed by far left-wing Democrats, including the “Green New Deal” and what supporters call universal healthcare.
But unlike most House Republicans, Van Drew opposes the Trump administration’s push to drill for oil off the Jersey Shore and in other areas of the Atlantic. And he was among five House Republicans to support a bill that aimed to expand labor protections, boost unions, and end worker misclassification. The bill would also effectively abolish state right-to-work laws.
When making the switch, Van Drew called the Republican party “a better fit.” And he may be right electorally. The Cook Political Report wrote that the move boosted Van Drew’s chances of reelection. Multiple local Democrats have entered their party’s right to challenge Van Drew, citing his “betrayal.”
But as an officeholder in the area going back to his days as a Dennis Township Committee member in the early 1990s, Van Drew has wide name recognition — enhanced by Trump’s support for him, expressed at a raucous rally in the district last month.
That followed Van Drew’s pledge, in a White House event with Trump, to give his “undying support” to the administration.
Still, Van Drew’s previous Democratic supporters have asked for and were given refunds. In the past three months, he has refunded more than $35,000 in donations to individuals and $49,250 to political action committees.
Van Drew has replaced it with small-dollar Republican donations, totaling about $1.7 million so far. Trump and Van Drew created a joint committee to collect contributions, and the pro-Trump group Committee to Defend the President has spent $260,000 to support him. He has also collected close to $140,000 using WinRed, a GOP fundraising platform, with most of the larger donors being from outside of New Jersey.
