John McCann says in anticipation of the coming election, “I can’t wait.”

It’s clear that McCann, the Republican challenger to Democratic incumbent Josh Gottheimer in CD-5, is the optimistic type.

Many election watchers, both in New Jersey and nationally, are virtually ignoring the Fifth, which covers the entire northern part of the state from the Hudson to the Delaware. 

Gottheimer won two years ago, unseating the very conservative Scott Garrett. While the district remains very competitive registration wise (Democrats have about a 3,000-voter advantage), many pundits see this as a win for Gottheimer.

The reasons are simple.

Gottheimer has far more money to spend, the advantage of incumbency and the good fortune to be running as a Democrat in what seems to be a good year to be a Democrat.

McCann knows all that, but points out that many in the party thought he would lose the primary to Steve Lonegan, but he didn’t. McCann, who says Democrats are “nationalizing” the election, knows President Trump is not popular in New Jersey. But he suggests – correctly – that his approval rating is likely higher in the Fifth District than it is in other parts of the state.

“What it comes down to is where you really stand on the issues and what have you really done,” McCann said in an interview recently in his Oakland home.

He claims Gottheimer is deficient on both accounts, noting that he hasn’t passed any legislation of his own and that despite touting bipartisan credentials, he votes with Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, 88 percent of the time.

These are the type of charges any challenger can make.

It is, of course, very difficult for a freshman congressman in the minority, as Gottheimer is, to get any laws passed. And just about every legislator votes with his, or her, party leader a majority of the time.

Well aware of the district he is in, Gottheimer stresses his bipartisanship. Over the summer, he held press events to tout endorsements from business and police organizations that normally back Republicans. Gottheimer also is a member of the Problem Solvers caucus, a bipartisan group that seeks a middle and less confrontational course.

McCann scoffs at this. He says the caucus is a failure, because it hasn’t solved any problems.

That’s legitimate campaign fodder, but the real problem may not be the caucus, but how the House is pulled on both ends by the far left and the far right.

McCann also faults Gottheimer for not speaking out forcefully enough against radical elements in his own party.  Specifically, he wants Gottheimer to condemn such groups as Antifa and inflammatory statements made by California Rep. Maxine Waters.

It’s an interesting line of attack. The not too subtle underlining suggestion here is that a congressman is a default supporter of a violent group like Antifa if he does not specifically condemn them.

But by this very same standard, every Republican running for office should publicly condemn such groups on the right as the KKK.

Getting around to more genuine issues, McCann says he wants strong borders, safe communities and to reform health care. And to that end, he does have an intriguing idea.

Rather than concentrate on treating the sick, McCann suggests a health care system that stresses wellness. He calls it Make America Well Again. Now. McCann likely would disagree, but there are elements of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare that do just that through free screening for a variety of ailments.

McCann has a varied political background. Among other things, he’s been a councilman, a lawyer for the Bergen County Sheriff, where he helped engineer a police merger that has saved millions, and a teacher of political science.

Relying on his teaching expertise, McCann says, “No one knows who a freshman congressman is.”

OK. But here’s the central question that must be answered affirmatively for McCann to prevail over Gottheimer.

Do people know who the guy challenging a freshman congressman is?