More Wacky & Weird Republican Developments in the Race for United States Congress in New Jersey’s District 2

More Wacky & Weird Republican Developments in the Race for United States Congress in New Jersey’s District 2

By HARRY HURLEY
Political Columnist

The contest for the Republican Nomination for the United States House of Representatives in New Jersey’s District 2 just keeps getting weirder.

It still must play out in real time, however, the presumptive front-runner, Hirsh Singh appears to be in jeopardy and former New Jersey Assemblyman Sam Fiocchi is presently the biggest benefactor of Singh’s sudden and dramatic fall from grace.

The whole point of Singh’s inevitability had been cloaked in the belief that Singh would largely be able to self-fund his campaign. It has been a strong-held belief, because Singh had promised it himself.

Republicans well know what a prodigious fundraiser State Senator Jeff Van Drew, D-1 is. They understandably gravitated to Singh, because he appeared to be the only Republican left standing who could raise the seven figures required to take-on Van Drew.

Various high-ranking County officials are said to now be furious upon learning the news of Singh’s financial disclosure form, which came 11 days after the required deadline. Most believe that the reason that Singh filed late was because his current financial standing is shockingly below what he had previously promised to all County Chairman and party movers and shakers.

Singh had directly and unambiguously promised to be able to self-fund. Upon require disclosure, it has now been learned that Singh has only two assets: A 401K plan (a tax-deferred financial instrument) worth between $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 and $ 1,000 to $ 15,000 in Atlantic City casino winnings.

On top of this, Singh disclosed that he has two loans, which could total more than the  than the 401K plan and casino win assets. Singh may have a negative net worth.

You can’t make this stuff up. This Republican Primary season has been a freak show. Singh personally described his casino win as “Hit black 13 on Roulette in Atlantic City after the first annual GOP Leadership Summit.”

Of amusing note, Singh actually placed a smiley face on his official federal financial disclosure form; probably a first in American federal campaign history. Incredulously, Singh does not have a checking or savings account with at least $ 1,000; because it would have to be disclosed.
It is important to note that the federal financial campaign laws are different then state level campaigns. In a federal campaign, only the candidate can loan money to his campaign. At the state level, Singh had impressively amassed more than $ 1 million during his campaign for Governor last year. This was due to a loan from his immediate family. That is not permitted in this campaign.

The momentum of Singh’s previous demonstrated financial prowess, carried into this year’s Congressional race. There was no reason to question Singh on his financial pronouncements. After all, he had just recently proven that he was a seven-figure candidate.

One Chairman that I have spoken with is furious with Singh, saying, “It’s on tape, he promised everyone that he would be able to self-fund to the tune of $ 2 million.”

The multiple seven-figure promise was politically/electorally intoxicating to the many Party Chairman, who saw that with Senate candidate Bob Hugin being able to self-fund; coupled with their belief that Singh had promised to be able to do the same … they were simply blinded by dollar signs, which would also prove to be so powerful down ballot.

This Primary election season is turning out to be a disaster and embarrassment for the Republican Party in District 2. It’s all playing into Van Drew’s hands. Van Drew has been attacked from the far left, but, he has skillfully avoided any major problems during his bid to secure the Democratic Nomination. Van Drew is flying clear skies like a stealth pilot. He’s basically unmarked during the Primary campaign.

The Fiocchi campaign has aggressively pounced on the Singh financial revelation:

“I clearly remember Hirsh Singh saying he would spend $ 2 million of his own money on his campaign, said Fiocchi. “He said it at the Cape May County Convention. Other candidates heard him say it and rank-and-file members of the party heard him. For his Campaign Manager to say he never said it is untrue,” said Fiocchi.

“The untrue statement from his campaign is just the tip of the iceberg. The real concern is that the two loans listed in the report that Singh took out in January. Who co-signed for the loans? No financial institution is going to give someone with no collateral a loan for between $ 10,000 and $ 50,000 as listed in the report,” said Fiocchi.

On Singh’s federal financial disclosure form, the following loans are listed:

A loan of between $ 10,000 to $ 15,000 from Goldman Sachs and a second loan from the Lending Club, between $ 15,001 to $ 50,000.

Fiocchi campaign spokesman Steve Kush said, “Obviously Goldman Sachs is a lending institution and would require collateral of a co-signer. Lending Club clearly states on its website that “In some cases when you apply for an individual loan, we may recommend that you add a co-borrower, which may help you qualify.”

The suggestion is two-fold. First, the Fiocchi campaign is pointing out that Singh appears to have no visible signs of individual income. Second, it is a direct reference that if Singh has used a co-borrower, that he may be violating at least the spirit of federal campaign finance laws.

“This all adds up to more controversy surrounding Hirsh Singh,” said Fiocchi. “Singh needs to tell voters who co-signed the loans and explain if he did an end-around federal campaign finance laws. If he wants to continue to be a candidate for office, voters have a right to know, because candidates (we are), should be held to a higher standard. Either come clean, or get out of the race,” concluded Fiocchi.

In the last issue of Shore Local News Magazine, I offered a scathing assessment of Cumberland County Republican Party Chairman Michael Testa, Esquire.

While I still strongly believe that there should have been a manageable way for Brian Fitzherbert to have been included on the Cumberland County Convention ballot and that Robert Turkavage should be in Column A on the Cumberland County Republican Primary Election Ballot … I have subsequently talked, again with Testa.

The conversation was entirely respectful and positive. Testa was highly professional throughout and I only feel that it is fair to our readers to follow-up that while I can’t take back my words in total; I can say that I feel differently now about Testa then I did at the time I wrote my stinging rebuke of him a few weeks ago.

The easiest thing for me to do here would be to say nothing. That’s not how I work. The easy way is usually not the right way. Testa takes a great deal of pride in his leadership responsibilities. I owe it to you, our valued readers, to revise and extend my remarks about Testa. It’s the intellectually honest and right thing to do.

I didn’t get it completely wrong. But, I also didn’t get it completely right.

Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 5, 2018. At the rate things are going, I can almost guarantee you that more wild and wacky story lines are sure to unfold. Stay tuned, we’ll continue to be your most comprehensive source for Decision 2018.

Harry Hurley is the president of Harry Hurley Consulting and Communications, LLC. He hosts the daily talk radio program “Hurley in the Morning” 6-10 a.m., weekdays on Townsquare Media, WPG Talk Radio 104.1 FM & 1450 AM, where he also serves as the senior programming consultant. Harry was elected to both the Philadelphia (2014) and New Jersey (2015) Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Harry Hurley has also been selected (2015-2018) as one of the Top 100 Most Important Talk Radio Hosts in America by Talkers Magazine. He has hosted various programs for local television and is the editor and publisher of his news and information website, www.harryhurley.com. Send comments to HarryHurley@aol.com