Byrne calls on GOP to join Democrats in Killing the County Line

Montclair, New Jersey — Montclair Republican County Committee Chairman and America First Republican Michael D. Byrne today called on GOP leaders to join New Jersey Democrats in killing the County Line to truly support President Trump and his America First agenda.

“Under President Trump, the Republican Party nationally has become a party of transparency and accountability, yet here in New Jersey the GOP has clung to deep state anachronisms that empower party bosses and suppress minority voices,” Byrne said.  “It’s time for Republican leaders to unite in killing the County Line which has been the greatest threat to democracy in New Jersey.”

Byrne said that powerbrokers on both sides of the aisle have abused ballot access laws for decades by bullying their opposition, rigging ballot drawings, and arranging primary ballots to prop-up weak candidates who can be controlled.

“This year, it’s worse than ever: county bosses are forcing President Trump to run with a Senate candidate who has viciously opposed him and his agenda from the beginning,” Byrne said.  “Why should the Trump name be exploited by South Jersey powerbrokers who want to nominate a new Adam Kinzinger to sabotage his third term and bring the America First agenda to a grinding halt?”

Byrne was referring to Senate candidate Curtis Bashaw who has secured County Line endorsements across South Jersey and is poised to benefit from the Trump name in a hotly contested Primary election against several genuinely pro-Trump, America First candidates.

“Certain Republican leaders are trying to fool voters into thinking Bashaw is a pro-Trump candidate merely because he will be bracketed with Trump on the ballot,” Byrne said.  “But the truth is, without Trump’s name and without the County Line, Bashaw would have no chance of winning a Republican primary.”

Bashaw shared an article falsely accusing President Trump of being a “threat to democracy,” donated to Chris Christie’s presidential campaign, and supported Cory Booker in his 2014 senate race.

“Bashaw doesn’t deserve to be bracketed with President Trump and benefit from his name on the County Line,” Byrne said.  “Republican leaders should demand the federal court protect President Trump’s right to freedom of association by killing the County Line today.”

Byrne is no stranger to the fight to end the County Line scam.  In 2021, Byrne sued Essex County Democrat Clerk Christopher J. Durkin for denying him the use of a ballot slogan which he owned.  Durkin instead gave Byrne’s slogan to the Republican County Chairman who never once owned it and who was a registered lobbyist for Durkin’s Democrat-controlled county government.

In 2023, he filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in Mazo vs. Way concerning First Amendment violations of the slogan statutes.

Byrne also sued Durkin in 2023 for giving preferential Line A ballot position to his own Democrat Party 18 consecutive times — a statistical impossibility and absurdity that Republican leaders allowed Democrats get away with in a backroom deal.

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