Five Republicans and five Democrats submitted petitions by Monday’s deadline to run in the June 5 primaries for the Congressional seat that has been held by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ11) for more than two decades. Frelinghuysen announced his retirement earlier this year. The 11th congressional district includes Verona and parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex County.
The Republican challengers are Patrick Allocco, Peter DeNeufville, Antony Ghee, Martin Hewitt and Jay Webber.
The Democratic candidates are Mitchell Cobert, Tamara Harris, Alison Heslin, Mikie Sherrill and Mark Washburne.
Sherrill, who was the first candidate from either party to step up to challenge Frelinghuysen last year, is a Naval Academy graduate, former Sea King Helicopter pilot and former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. Cobert is a Morristown resident who has prosecuted securities fraud and represented victims of Wall Street crimes and helped to establish the Drug Court that enables people with minor drug offenses work to clear their records. Harris, who lives in Verona’s Claridge condo complex, is a family advocate who is also an adjunct lecturer at Montclair State University and New York University. Heslin, who holds a doctorate from Emory University, is a political and economic socoiologist who studies climate change, food security and migration. Washburne has been a professor of history and political science in the Morris County area for 25 years.
On the Republican side, Hewitt is a lawyer who lives in Morris Township. He announced his candidacy for the Republican non before Frelinghuysen said that he would not run again. Webber, a gun rights advocate, currently represents the New Jersey state Assembly district that includes Verona. Allocco is the chief executive of AllGood Entertainment, a concert promoter. Ghee is a Trenton native who is now an investment banker and a major in the Army Reserves. DeNeufville, who does not yet have a campaign website, is a wealthy tech company executive who served as a U.S. Navy reserve officer.
