The contest in the Seventh District between incumbent Representative Leonard Lance and Democratic challenger Tom Malinowski will determine whether the Democrats pick up two or three New Jersey Congressional seats.

If Lance loses, it will be due to the massive unpopularity of Trump in his district.  Leonard knows this, and he has most admirably placed major distance between himself and the policies and behavior of the President.  There is no question regarding Lance’s impeccable ethics and courageous independence.  Nevertheless, Democrats and the Malinowski campaign will attempt to make this election a referendum on Trump and tie Leonard to him simply due to their common Republican registration.

Yet in terms of ideological identification, the voters of the Seventh tend to identify with the center, be it center-right or center-left.  Leonard Lance is clearly a man of the center-right.

By contrast, Tom Malinowski is a man of the Ultra-Left.  This is demonstrated most clearly by his association with two far left allies:  George Soros and J-Street.  And Malinowski’s refusal to disavow either of these two backers will cost him dearly.  Indeed, the Ultra-Left albatross of George Soros and J Street may be sufficient to cost Tom Malinowski the election.

George Soros is the ultimate financier of the Far Left of the Democratic Party.   He has a much closer relationship with Tom Malinowski than any other New Jersey Democratic candidate in the 2018 election.  During the last three years of Malinowski’s tenure as the Washington Director of Human Rights Watch, Soros served as a major financial backer of the organization.

Soros is most noted for his virulent opposition of to the State of Israel, an issue of major significance to New Jersey.   By contrast,  Lance has been a reliable and strong supporter of the American-Israel alliance.   This is of the highest relevance in this campaign, in view of the endorsement that Malinowski has received from an organization of which Soros was a founder and major financier: J Street.

J Street has a well-deserved reputation for being the prime advocacy organization for Israeli appeasement of its major enemies, most notably, Iran.  The contrast between Lance and Malinowski on Israel has made this race a matter of highest significance to Israel supporters and pro-Israel organizations throughout the nation.

If the center holds in the Seventh District, Leonard Lance will be reelected.

Alan J. Steinberg served as Regional Administrator of Region 2 EPA during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as Executive Director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission under former New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman.