Gebruiker:Haaftjlv/Jeffvan Drew

In this Dutch name, the family name is Van Drew, not Drew.

Jeff Van Drew Jeff Van Drew Official Portrait 116th Congress.jpg Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 2nd district Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 2019 Preceded by Frank LoBiondo Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 1st district In office January 8, 2008 – December 31, 2018 Preceded by Nicholas Asselta Succeeded by Bob Andrzejczak Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 1st district In office January 8, 2002 – January 8, 2008 Preceded by John C. Gibson Succeeded by Matthew W. Milam Personal details Born February 23, 1953 (age 66) New York City, New York, U.S. Political party Republican (2019–present) Other political affiliations Democratic (Before 2019) Spouse(s) Ricarda Van Drew Education Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BS) Fairleigh Dickinson University (DMD) Website House website

Jefferson H. Van Drew, New York City, New York, V.S., 23 februari 1953 is een Amerikaanse tandarts en Republikeinse politicus, die sinds 2019 functioneert als lid van het Huis van Afgevaardigden voor het 2de Congresdistrict van New Jersey.

He served as the New Jersey State Senator from the 1st Legislative District from 2008 to 2018. He represented the same district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2008.[1][2]

Van Drew was the Democratic nominee in New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the 2018 election. He was elected with 53% of the vote against Republican nominee Seth Grossman, who received 45% of the vote.[3] On December 19, 2019, Van Drew announced that he had joined the Republican Party.[4]

Contents 1 Personal life, education, and career 2 Earlier political career 2.1 New Jersey Senate 3 U.S. House of Representatives 3.1 2018 election 3.2 2020 election 3.3 Tenure 3.4 Committee assignments 3.5 Caucus memberships 4 Political positions 5 Electoral history 6 References 7 External links Personal life, education, and career Van Drew was born in New York City. He graduated with a B.S. from Rutgers University and received a D.M.D. degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.[2]

Van Drew operated a dental practice in South Jersey for 30 years before retiring.[5]

Van Drew is married to his wife Ricarda. The couple has two children.[6]

He is a resident of Dennis Township, New Jersey.[7] Van Drew has served as president of the New Jersey Dental Society and a board expert of the New Jersey Board of Dentistry.[8]

Earlier political career Van Drew served on the Dennis Township Committee in 1991, and as Mayor from 1997 to 2003 and from 1994 to 1995. Van Drew served on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1994 to 1997. He was a Dennis Township Fire Commissioner from 1983 to 1986.[2]

In 1994, as a Cape May County Freeholder, Van Drew made support for a local community college a major campaign issue. In 2002, ground was broken on the site of the future Atlantic Cape Community College campus in Cape May County.[9]

New Jersey Senate On November 6, 2007, Van Drew won his bid for a seat in the New Jersey Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Nicholas Asselta.[10] In November 2011, Van Drew defeated Republican challenger David S. DeWeese by a margin of 24,557-20,857.[11] He was reelected in the 2013 elections defeating Upper Township Republican businesswoman Susan Adelizzi Schmidt by 20 points.[12]

For the 2018–19 session, Van Drew served in the Senate on the Community and Urban Affairs Committee (as Chair), the Military and Veterans' Affairs (as Vice-Chair), the Joint Committee on Housing Affordability and the Intergovernmental Relations Commission.[2] In 2008, Van Drew sponsored the Fair Market Drug Pricing Act to establish the "New Jersey Rx Card Program to reduce prescription drug prices."[13]

U.S. House of Representatives 2018 election Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 2 New Jersey's 2nd congressional district had been represented by Republican Frank LoBiondo since 1995, who served 11 terms before announcing his retirement on November 7, 2017. The district is the southernmost in New Jersey and the state's largest, encompassing rural farms from Salem County to the Jersey Shore and Atlantic City. President Barack Obama won the district in 2008 and 2012, and President Donald Trump won in 2016. Upon LoBiondo's retirement announcement, The Cook Political Report changed the district's rating in the 2018 midterms from "Safe Republican" to "Toss-Up".[14][15][16]

On November 29, 2017, Van Drew announced he would run for the open congressional seat, aiming "to bring economic opportunity and good jobs to South Jersey."[17] He was endorsed by the eight county chairs in the district, as well as New Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross.[16] In February 2018, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included Van Drew in their Red to Blue program, which provided resources and donors to candidates in districts that were targeted to be flipped from Republican to Democrat.[18] In the primary campaign for the seat, Van Drew faced William Cunningham, Tanzie Youngblood,[14] and Nate Kleinman.[19] Sean Thom dropped out ahead of the June 5, 2018 primary.[20] As of May 16, Van Drew had raised $412,555 for his campaign.[21] On June 5, 2018, Van Drew won the Democratic primary with 55.4% of the vote. On the same night, former Atlantic County Freeholder Seth Grossman won the Republican nomination.[22]

Following Van Drew's win in the primary, The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball changed the rating of the district to "Likely Democratic".[23][24] In the November 5 midterms, Van Drew ultimately won 52.9% of the vote, one of four New Jersey congressional districts to flip from Republican to Democratic. This made Van Drew the first Democrat to represent NJ-02 since 1995.[25]

2020 election In late November 2019, Van Drew vowed that he would remain as a Democrat, even though he opposed impeaching Trump.[26] In December 2019, it was reported that Van Drew was considering switching to the Republican Party for the 2020 elections.[27][28][29] Following a private meeting between Van Drew and President Trump,[30] most of his senior aides resigned in protest.[31][32] The planned conversion was met with praise and criticism by members of both parties.[33][34] After reports that he was planning to switch parties to the GOP, the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats, dropped him from their ranks.[35] The Cook Political Report changed the rating for the district from "Toss-up" to "Leans Republican" on December 16, 2019.[36]

On December 19, 2019, Van Drew publicly announced his decision to join the Republican Party, telling Trump that he has his "undying support." As a result, Trump endorsed him for re-election.[37][4] In December 2019, Van Drew hired former Trump administration political director Bill Stepien as a 2020 campaign adviser.[38]

Tenure Van Drew said during his campaign that, if elected, he would not support Nancy Pelosi to be the next Speaker of the House.[39][40] His first vote in Congress was "no" for Speaker which was recorded as "present" under the rules.[41]

In October 2019, he announced that he would oppose the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.[42] On October 31, 2019, he was one of two Democrats to vote against the rules for an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.[43][44] He was also one of two Democrats to vote against both articles of impeachment on December 18, 2019, along with Collin Peterson,[45] though it had already been leaked prior to the impeachment vote that he was planning to switch parties.[46]

Prior to switching parties, Van Drew voted in line with Democrats 89.7% of the time during his tenure in Congress.[47]

Committee assignments Committee on Agriculture[48] Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations Committee on Natural Resources[49] Caucus memberships Problem Solvers Caucus