Paramus, NJ – A flier portraying a Democratic congressional challenger as the devil is the latest flashpoint in an already bitter New Jersey race.
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Democrat Josh Gottheimer’s campaign called the fliers “blatantly anti-Semitic.” Gottheimer is Jewish.
The fliers were circulated at schools and train stations in the New Jersey congressional district that stretches from the suburbs across from New York City to rural towns.
Republican incumbent Rep. Scott Garrett denounced the flier portraying Gottheimer as the devil with horns and a pitchfork. Sarah Neibart, Garrett’s campaign manager, called it disgusting and said she would never authorize it.
Neibart, who said that her family fled Nazi-occupied Europe to escape persecution because of their Jewish heritage, also called on Gottheimer to turn the fliers over to authorities to check their origin and whether they were a manufactured “political ploy.”
The race has turned increasingly negative, with both sides calling one another liars.
Gottheimer, a former Bill Clinton speechwriter and Microsoft executive, called Garrett a bigot on Monday during the only debate in the race. The seven-term incumbent called Gottheimer a liar.
Garrett has been hampered by a controversy over reports last year that he wouldn’t donate to a national Republican committee because it supported gay candidates. The fallout has seen corporate backers including PNC Bank and State Farm pull their support.
Gottheimer has taken advantage and raised $4 million through September, compared to Garrett’s $1.9 million, according to federal campaign disclosures.
Garrett says he supports the right of anyone to run for office, but he opposes same-sex marriage.
With the district’s rural counties a Garrett stronghold, densely populated Bergen County to the east figures to be where the election is decided.
In a TV ad, Garrett hammers Gottheimer over a lawsuit — later dismissed — from a woman who accused him of intimidating her at his Washington, D.C., apartment building. The woman said she was fearful Gottheimer was going to hit her after he waved his finger at her and spoke aggressively in the lobby. The Gottheimer campaign calls the ad “categorically false.”