Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante announced today the organization  endorsed Rik Mehta for U.S. Senate, Congressman Jeff Van Drew in the Second Congressional District and Claire Gustafson in the First Congressional District.

The support for Mehta continues a trend among Republican organizations around the state.

Earlier this month, Mehta bagged the Camden County GOP line. He also has the lines in Burlington, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, and is regarded in GOP circles at the stage of a four-person contest as the frontrunner.

A frustrated attorney Stuart Meissner abandoned his bid earlier this month, leaving Mehta,  Tricia Flanagan, engineer Hirsh Singh, and Natalie Rivera still in the contest for the Republican nomination to go up against incumbent U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the 2020 general election.

But it’s Mehta alone at this moment in time (with GOP behemoth Ocean to be decided next month) who has undeniable momentum.

The Republican candidate has shown a willingness to go right at the Democratic Party incumbent.

When Booker dropped out of the presidential contest, Mehta jeered.

“Cory Booker has been completely tone-deaf in terms of what issues are important to the nation,” said the Republican U.S. Senate candidate. “If he runs back to New Jersey after being absent for so many months, I’m sure he will find that the New Jersey electorate has moved on from him and his failed policies.

“Cory Booker has failed New Jersey residents on every level,” added Mehta. “From the poverty rates and unresolved lead water crisis in Newark, to public health and education which continue to suffer under him, the American public understands that Booker’s failed policies in Newark will also fail the rest of the country.”

Mehta of Morris County is of Indian descent and has worked at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and with the FDA. Currently, he runs a business aimed at helping physicians cope with regulations.