Owner of a business with millions in federal government contracts and potential contract awards in the billions, government contract engineer Tribuvan Singh almost singlehandedly bankrolled his son’s failed $1 million gubernatorial campaign with a $950,000 loan, a year before the younger Singh made a comeback as an establishment-backed conservative congressional candidate intent on the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2).

But as CD2 Republican frontrunner Hirsh Singh makes the rounds now among party organizations stridently vowing to help minimize the influence of Governor Phil Murphy and other Democrats, his father, who owns Hi-Tec Systems, Inc. of Egg Harbor Twp., has donated not only to other Democratic candidates in South Jersey, but to Murphy himself.

According to Hi-Tec Systems, Inc.’s website, the business is a government contractor, and possesses “numerous large, complex programs and contracts with the Federal Aviation Administration, Army, Navy, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense,” with offices near the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center outside Atlantic City, and additional administrative offices in Washington, DC, and Aberdeen (Proving Ground), MD.

Going back to the early millennium, Hi-Tec Systems has had 52 federal government contracts totaling millions; with potential contract awards right now of more than $650 billion, according to the feds.

The financial backer of his son’s campaigns for Congress and Governor, Tribuvan Singh of Linwood last year donated $1,000 to the Campaign of Democrat Murphy while the younger Singh was also running for governor in the statewide Republican Primary.

According to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), the elder Singh’s contributions to Democrats include the one dated 1/23/2017 to the Murphy Campaign in the amount of $1,000.  Tribuvan Singh also wrote a $500 check to Democrat Lisa McClay toward her failed 2014 bid against incumbent Republican Mayor Phil Guenther of Brigantine.

Contacted for comment, Singh Campaign Manager Michael D. Byrne said, “Trib is a successful businessman who is proud of his son, a new generation conservative Republican engineer who is running to protect South Jersey values and grow the South Jersey economy.”

But at least one of the candidate’s rivals objected to the narrative.

“Campaign contributions equal business, and this has got to stop,” said former FBI agent Robert “Turk” Turkavage, a candidate in the GOP Primary, who said he plans to submit a FOIA regarding the exact nature of Hi-Tec Systems, Inc.’s contracts.

“The taxpayers of Southern New Jersey deserve to know,” Turkavage said.

The extra attention to Singh comes as little surprise.

Having collected four of the eight party organization lines in the district during the convention season, he appears to be the frontrunner for the nomination right now and likely showdown with state Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1), even as the national GOP appears underwhelmed by theirs chances in the district, and his rivals or former rivals denounce him as a rich kid with few notable accomplishments.

“Hirsh Vardhan Singh is a 33-year-old boy that lives at home with his parents, but wants to be a Congressman representing South Jersey,” griped Brian Fitzherbert after the former candidate for Congress discovered that the Singh Campaign challenged the legitimacy of his ballot signatures, resulting in his ejection from the Republican Primary earlier this month.