Josh Gottheimer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Josh Gottheimer
Josh Gottheimer Photo.jpg
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2017
Preceded byScott Garrett
Personal details
Born (1975-03-08) March 8, 1975 (age 46)
Livingston, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Marla Tusk
​
(m. 2006)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
Pembroke College, Oxford
Harvard University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Joshua S. Gottheimer (/ˈɡɒthaɪmər/ GOT-hy-mər; born March 8, 1975) is an American attorney, writer, and public policy adviser who has served as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 5th congressional district since 2017. The district includes a swath of suburban and rural territory west of New York City.

A member of the Democratic Party, Gottheimer was a speechwriter for Bill Clinton and served as an adviser to the presidential campaigns of Wesley Clark, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. He has also worked for Burson-Marsteller, the Federal Communications Commission, Ford Motor Company, and Microsoft.

Early life and career[]

Gottheimer in 2012

Gottheimer was born in Livingston, New Jersey, on March 8, 1975.[1] At the age of 16, Gottheimer served as a United States Senate Page for Frank Lautenberg, a Senator from New Jersey. Through high school and college, Gottheimer held internships with C-SPAN, the Secretary of the United States Senate, and Tom Foley, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.[2]

Gottheimer graduated from West Essex High School, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard Law School. Gottheimer was a member and brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he served on the "rapid response team" for Bill Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign. Following Clinton's reelection, Gottheimer attended Pembroke College, Oxford on a Thouron Award, studying toward a DPhil in modern history. He joined the Clinton administration as a speechwriter in 1998, at the age of 23,[2] working in the administration until its end in 2001. While attending law school, Gottheimer worked as an adviser for Wesley Clark's 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, and Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.[3] After the 2004 election, Gottheimer worked for the Ford Motor Company and then became executive vice president for Burson-Marsteller.[2] From 2010 to 2012, he worked for the Federal Communications Commission,[4] where he led an initiative related to broadband internet.[5] He then joined Microsoft as a strategist.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2016
See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 5

In the 2016 elections, Gottheimer ran for the House of Representatives in New Jersey's 5th congressional district, a seat held by Republican Scott Garrett. Cory Booker joined him when he officially announced his candidacy.[7]

Gottheimer attracted more attention than previous challengers to Garrett due to his fundraising ability[8] and ties to the Clintons.[9] The New York Times ran a prominent article about his Clinton ties, describing him as a protégé of the Clintons and noting that Bill and Chelsea Clinton had appeared at a recent Manhattan fundraiser for Gottheimer at which Chelsea introduced him as "something of a family member."[3] His campaign's 2015 financial filings, in which Gottheimer reported raising around $1 million through the end of September, showed that "about one dollar in six came directly from fellow alumni of the Clinton White House and campaigns...or from major donors and employees of consulting firms tied closely to the Clintons."[3] Among those who donated were three former Clinton press secretaries and two former Clinton chiefs of staff.[3]

The 5th had historically been one of the more Republican districts in New Jersey, but redistricting after the 2010 census had made it slightly more Democratic by pushing it further into Bergen County. During the campaign, Garrett criticized Gottheimer "for taking a donation from Ibrahim Al-Rashid, the son of a Saudi multimillionaire who pleaded guilty in 2014 to simple assault of his estranged wife."[10] Gottheimer and national Democrats attacked Garrett for his social conservatism, particularly comments he made about openly gay Republican candidates, arguing that these views showed Garrett was too conservative for the district.[11]

Gottheimer defeated Garrett,[12] primarily on the strength of a strong showing in the district's share of Bergen County, home to over three-fourths of the district's voters. He won Bergen by over 33,800 votes, more than double his overall margin of almost 14,900 votes.[13] It was the most expensive House race in New Jersey history.[14] He was sworn in on January 3, 2017–[15]the first Democrat to represent this district since 1981, when it was numbered the 7th District (it has been the 5th since 1983).

2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 5

Gottheimer was reelected in 2018, defeating Republican nominee John McCann with 56% of the vote. While he lost three of the district's four counties, Gottheimer won a second term on the strength of carrying the district's share of Bergen County by over 51,000 votes, more than his overall margin of 41,300 votes.[16]

2020
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 5

Gottheimer won a third term in 2020, defeating Republican nominee Frank Pallotta with 53% of the vote. As in his previous campaigns, he lost three of the district's four counties, but swamped Pallotta in the district's share of Bergen County, this time by 52,600 votes, more than his overall margin of 32,800 votes.[17] He was also helped by Joe Biden carrying the district with 52% of the vote.[18]

Tenure[]

In the first session of the 115th United States Congress, Gottheimer was ranked the eighth most bipartisan member of the House by the Bipartisan Index, a metric published by The Lugar Center and Georgetown's McCourt School of Public Policy.[19][20] In January 2018, Gottheimer was one of six House Democrats who voted with Republicans for a short-term spending bill in an attempt to stave off a federal government shutdown.[21]

He is the Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.[22]

Gottheimer voted to impeach Trump a second time following the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.[23]

Committee assignments[]

Caucus memberships[]

Political positions[]

Gottheimer is considered a conservative Democrat,[28] with GovTrack rating him the most conservative Democrat in the United States House of Representatives as of February 2021, as well as more conservative than 32 House Republicans.[29] During Donald Trump's presidency, Gottheimer voted in line with Trump more often than any other Democrat in Congress.[30][31] As of August 2021, Gottheimer had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[32]

Gottheimer has pointed to his work with the Problem Solvers Caucus as proof that he is not "ideologically rigid". He has also said that members of Congress "are more bipartisan than people think".[33]

Taxes[]

On April 15, 2017, Gottheimer announced that he would be introducing the "Anti-Moocher Bill," under which states receiving more federal dollars than they contribute to the national treasury would pay their "fair share." "Why should Alabama get our federal tax dollars and get a free ride, while we're left holding the bag with higher property taxes?" he asked. "It just doesn't make sense."[34]

Gottheimer is a proponent of restoring the full state and local tax (SALT) deduction.[35][36]

Health care[]

In 2017, Gottheimer said, "we need to fix the Affordable Care Act", also known as Obamacare. "There's plenty wrong with it, whether it's the medical device tax or the Cadillac tax." But he also felt that the GOP replacement bill did not reflect an effort "to reach across the aisle."[33]

Infrastructure[]

Gottheimer supports New Jersey infrastructure projects, including the Lackawanna Cut-Off and the Gateway Tunnel.[37][38]

In August 2021, Gottheimer led a group of centrist Democrats who threatened to derail the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle infrastructure.[39][40]

Syria[]

Gottheimer said that he thought President Donald Trump acted appropriately in striking Syria in response to the 2018 use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. "There's room the president has to deal with a crisis, and I believed, if you looked at the heinous crimes and atrocities committed, poisoning your own children, that demanded a response, and I'm glad he responded."[33]

Donald Trump[]

In 2017, Gottheimer called for an independent commission to probe alleged ties between Donald Trump and Russia.[33]

Of the possibility of impeaching Trump over the Ukraine scandal, in September 2019 Gottheimer said, "We need to make sure this is fact-driven and evidence-based. You can't prejudge something that is so solemn and obviously could have a big historical impact on our country, and you need to keep the country together."[41] Gottheimer voted to impeach Trump during both his first impeachment[42] and his second impeachment.[43]

Gottheimer was one of eight Democrats to vote against a resolution that would curtail Trump's war powers following the assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.[44]

Drugs[]

In 2019, Gottheimer stated his opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana. The statement came after he voted for a bill that would block the penalization of banks that serve the cannabis industry.[45]

Electoral history[]

2016 Democratic primary results[46]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joshua S. Gottheimer 43,250 100.0
Total votes 43,250 100.0
New Jersey's 5th congressional district, 2016[47]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Gottheimer 172,587 51.1
Republican Scott Garrett (incumbent) 157,690 46.7
Libertarian Claudio Belusic 7,424 2.2
Total votes 337,701 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican
2018 Democratic primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) 27,486 100
Total votes 27,486 100
New Jersey's 5th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) 169,546 56.2
Republican John J. McCann 128,255 42.5
Libertarian James Tosone 2,115 0.7
Independent Wendy Goetz 1,907 0.6
Total votes 301,823 100.0
Democratic hold
2020 Democratic primary results[48]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) 52,406 66.5
Democratic Arati Kreibich 26,418 33.5
New Jersey's 5th congressional district, 2020[49]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) 225,175 53.2
Republican Frank Pallotta 193,333 45.6
Independent Louis Vellucci 5,128 1.2

Books[]

He is the editor of Ripples of Hope (2003), a collection of American civil-rights speeches. The text of one of the speeches included in the book, which was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma on January 25, 1965, was previously unpublished. Gottheimer acquired the text from an Alabama police consultant who had transcribed it from FBI surveillance tapes.[50]

He is also co-author, with Mary Frances Berry, of Power of Words (2011), a book about Barack Obama's speeches.[51]

Personal life[]

Gottheimer is a native of North Caldwell, and he currently resides in Wyckoff.[52] He is Jewish and a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.[2] He married Marla Tusk in 2006.[53] Together, they have two children.[2]

Bibliography[]

  • Gottheimer, Josh, ed. (2003). Ripples of Hope: Great American Civil Rights Speeches. New York: Basic Civitas Books. p. 463. ISBN 0-465-02752-0.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Berry, Mary Frances; Gottheimer, Josh, eds. (2011). Power in Words: The Stories behind Barack Obama's Speeches, from the State House to the White House. Beacon Press. ISBN 978-0-807-00169-1.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)

See also[]

  • List of Jewish members of the United States Congress

References[]

  1. ^ "Guide to the New Congress" (PDF). Roll Call. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Palmer, Joanne (February 14, 2014). "'And then the phone rang…'; Wyckoff man's adventures in politics and public service". The Times of Israel. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Burns, Alexander (December 25, 2015). "Protégé of Clintons Targets U.S. Congressional Seat". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  4. ^ "Josh Gottheimer, Senior Counselor to the Chairman, to step down; Jordan Usdan named Acting Director of Public-Private Initiatives" (PDF) (Press release). Federal Communications Commission. June 20, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "FCC's Gottheimer to Lead New Broadband Public/Private Initiative". RadioResource Media Group. March 7, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  6. ^ Wingfield, Nick; Cain Miller, Claire (December 16, 2012). "Former Washington political brawler now battles for Microsoft". Business Standard. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  7. ^ Pizarro, Max. "Garrett Challenger Gottheimer Gets out of the Gate in CD5". Observer. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg backed this N.J. candidate - The Auditor". Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  9. ^ Jackson, Herb (March 13, 2016). "Jackson: A 'new Democrat' alternative in 5th Congressional District". The Record. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  10. ^ Railey, Kimberly. "Gottheimer Takes Heat From Garrett Over Campaign Donation". The National Journal. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  11. ^ "Anti-Gay Remarks Lost A Congressman Wall Street, And Maybe His House Seat". NPR.org.
  12. ^ "Josh Gottheimer Defeats Scott Garrett in New Jersey Congressional Race". The New York Times. November 9, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  13. ^ "Full 2016 election results: New Jersey House 05". www.cnn.com.
  14. ^ Jackson, Herb. "Garrett-Gottheimer: NJ's most expensive House race". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  15. ^ "Gottheimer takes seat as N.J.'s newest House member". Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  16. ^ "New Jersey - Full House results". www.cnn.com.
  17. ^ 2020 election results from CNN
  18. ^ Presidential results by congressional district from Daily Kos
  19. ^ "The Lugar Center - McCourt School Bipartisan Index" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: The Lugar Center. April 24, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  20. ^ "Blue Dog Coalition Members Ranked Most Bipartisan House Democrats in 2017". Washington, D.C.: Blue Dog Coalition. April 25, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  21. ^ Jackson, Herb; Alvarado, Monsy (January 19, 2019). "As shutdown looms, Gottheimer joins Republicans on spending bill most Democrats opposed". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Marcos, Cristina (February 3, 2017). "Lawmakers set up bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus for new Congress". The Hill. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  23. ^ "2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Josh Gottheimer Voted". Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  24. ^ "U.S.House Committee on Financial Services - Membership". United States House of Representatives - Committee on Financial Services. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  25. ^ "Members". Blue dog coalition. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  26. ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  27. ^ "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  28. ^ "The Most Conservative Democrat In Congress Just Survived A Progressive Primary Challenge". Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  29. ^ "Josh Gottheimer, Representative for New Jersey's 5th District". GovTrack.us. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  31. ^ NJ.com, Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for (March 3, 2019). "He voted with Trump more than any Democrat in the nation. She voted against him more than almost anyone. They're both from New Jersey". nj. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  32. ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Danzis, David. "Gottheimer discusses issues from his first 100 days in Congress". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  34. ^ Danzis, David (April 19, 2017). "Gottheimer talks economic growth, 'Anti-Moocher Bill'". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  35. ^ Edelman, Adam. "Trump-era tax change emerges as wedge issue in Democrats' infrastructure debate". NBC News. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  36. ^ Samuels, Montana. "NJ's Gottheimer Has A Plan To Bring Back The SALT Deduction". Patch. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  37. ^ Moen, Katie. "Andover Twp. resolution advances Lackawanna Cut-Off railroad project". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  38. ^ Nolan, Sarah. "Gottheimer: No one should fear driving their kids across a bridge or through a tunnel". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  39. ^ Grim, Ryan GrimSara SirotaRyan; SirotaAugust 25 2021, Sara; A.m, 12:37. "Already, Cracks Emerge in Rep. Josh Gottheimer's "Unbreakable Nine"". The Intercept.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Ferris, Sarah; Caygle, Heather (August 24, 2021). "Anatomy of a power play: How 9 House Dems cut their deal with Pelosi". POLITICO. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  41. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (September 29, 2019). "Pelosi Pushes for Simple Message on Impeachment as Inquiry Barrels Ahead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  42. ^ <cite web|url=http://www.westmilfordmessenger.com/news/local-news/gottheimer-moving-on-from-impeachment-vote-BH810300%7Ctitle=Gottheimer moving on from impeachment vote|access-date=7 February 2021}}
  43. ^ "2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Josh Gottheimer Voted". Ridgewood-Glen Rock, NJ Patch. January 13, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  44. ^ "Gottheimer votes against limiting Trump war powers". New Jersey Globe. January 10, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  45. ^ "Gottheimer opposes recreational pot". New Jersey Globe. March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  46. ^ "New Jersey Primary Results". NYT. September 29, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  47. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  48. ^ "2020-official-primary-results-us-house.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Division of Elections. August 9, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 13, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  49. ^ "Official General Election Results: U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Elections. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  50. ^ "FBI Text of Rev. King Speech Made Public". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  51. ^ "Power in Words". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  52. ^ Jackson, Herb (May 4, 2015). "Donors start backing Wyckoff man as potential Garrett challenger for Congress". NorthJersey.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  53. ^ "Marla Tusk and Josh Gottheimer". The New York Times. December 10, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2016.

External links[]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Scott Garrett 		Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 5th congressional district
2017–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
New office Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus
2017–present
Served alongside: Tom Reed, Brian Fitzpatrick 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Vicente Gonzalez 		United States representatives by seniority
266th 		Succeeded by
Clay Higgins
  • v
  • t
New Jersey's delegation(s) to the 115th–present United States Congress (ordered by seniority)
115th Senate: B. Menendez • C. Booker House: C. Smith • F. Pallone • R. Frelinghuysen • F. Van LoBiondo • B. Pascrell • A. Sires • L. Lance • D. Payne Jr. • D. Norcross • B. Watson Coleman • T. MacArthur • J. Gottheimer
116th Senate: B. Menendez • C. Booker House: C. Smith • F. Pallone • B. Pascrell • A. Sires • D. Payne Jr. • D. Norcross • B. Watson Coleman • J. Gottheimer • A. Kim • T. Malinowski • M. Sherrill • J. Van Drew
117th Senate: B. Menendez • C. Booker House: C. Smith • F. Pallone • B. Pascrell • A. Sires • D. Payne Jr. • D. Norcross • B. Watson Coleman • J. Gottheimer • A. Kim • T. Malinowski • M. Sherrill • J. Van Drew
Retrieved from ""