NJ-05: Gottheimer gets second GOP challenger in 5th district

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly), ramping up his congressional re-election campaign after his bid for governor failed to work out, has drawn a second Republican challenger in the 5th congressional district.

Sandy Gajapathy, a former sales associate from Paramus, announced this week that she will run against Gottheimer next year; Gajapathy briefly ran for the same seat in 2024, but garnered little support at the Bergen GOP convention and never filed to make the primary ballot.

“I deeply care about the future of our country,” Gajapathy told the New Jersey Globe. “This district is my home, it’s my family’s home, and that’s why I’m running.”

One other Republican, corporate consultant Sean Kirrane, has also launched a campaign for the 5th district. Gottheimer’s 2024 opponent, Mary Jo Guinchard, said in April that she would run against Gottheimer once again, but she withdrew from the race a few months later.



https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/gottheimer-gets-second-gop-challenger-in-5th-district/