Republican David Richter Announces First-Class
Campaign Team for CD2 Congressional Run

AVALON, NJ – David Richter, Republican congressional candidate to represent New Jersey’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced today the members of his senior campaign team.

“As I learned in business, you are only as good as the team you have working with you.  And we have assembled the best possible campaign team to win the Republican primary and defeat Jeff Van Drew in next year’s general election,” said Richter.

Chris Russell is the campaign’s General Consultant.  Chris is Co-Founder and Partner at Checkmate Strategies, a campaign consulting and communications firm with offices in New Jersey and New York.  Chris proudly serves as strategic advisors to Members of Congress, Republican organizations, state legislators and elected officials on the county and local level, as well as corporations and issue advocacy groups in New Jersey and beyond.  An award-winning direct mail consultant, Chris has won over 30 Pollie Awards from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) and Reed Awards from Campaigns & Elections magazine for his creative work.

John Lyons is the campaign’s Political Director.  A graduate of Stockton University, John has a proven track record of running and winning grassroots local campaigns throughout the Second Congressional District.  An elected official in his own right for the past 16 years, John has a unique blend of experience he brings to bear in advising political candidates.  John, who speaks fluent Spanish, is currently an elected member of the Hammonton Board of Education, a commissioner of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority and a member of the New Jersey State Supreme Court’s District 1 Attorney Ethics Committee.  John is also a volunteer firefighter and a FEMA-certified public information officer.

Larry Weitzner is the campaign’s Media Consultant.  Larry is the CEO of Jamestown Associates, one of the nation’s premier political consulting firms.  With more than two decades fighting and winning federal, state and local campaigns in New Jersey and all across the country, Larry is considered one of the best media consultants in the business.  Larry has helped elect more Republican governors in the Northeast over the past 30 years than any other media consultant.  In 2016, he was the lead ad maker for the Donald J. Trump for President campaign.

Ron Gravino is the campaign’s Treasurer.  Ron has worked in both the federal and New Jersey state compliance arena since 1994 when he worked on Chuck Haytaian’s 1994 U.S. Senate race.  Since then he has worked as Treasurer on most statewide races for Governor and U.S. Senate on the Republican side, including Governors Christie Whitman, Don DiFrancesco and Chris Christie and U.S. Senate candidates Tom Kean, Jr., Joe Kyrillos and Bob Hugin, as well as Chris Christie’s Presidential Committee.  He has also been Treasurer for Congressmen Bob Franks, Mike Ferguson, Leonard Lance, Jon Runyan and Tom MacArthur.  Ron is a Certified Campaign Treasurer by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.  He is also currently serving as Treasurer for the Legislative Leadership Committees of the New Jersey State Senate and State Assembly.

Katie Martinez Castellano is the campaign’s Finance Director.  She also serves as the Finance Director for the New Jersey State Republican Party.  A dynamic and seasoned political operative, Katie began her career as the Statewide Volunteer Director for Governor Chris Christie’s re-election campaign.  Since then she has worked for numerous campaigns and state parties in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Dakota.  In 2016, she worked for the Donald Trump for President campaign, where she simultaneously served as the New Jersey State Director and Bucks County Director, helping to hold the line in Pennsylvania and deliver a huge win in that state.  Katie also served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey Assemblyman and Assistant Republican Whip Erik Peterson.  She was named to Save Jersey’s 40 Right Women to Watch in 2019 and 30 Under 30 in 2016.  Katie is a graduate of the College of New Jersey.

Push Digital has also been selected to manage all digital aspects of the campaign, including website development, social media and online communication.  Push Digital is a premier digital agency that focuses on Republican candidates and conservative causes nationwide.  Their work has helped elect Republicans up and down the ballot including Senators Tom Cotton, David Perdue, Cindy Hyde-Smith and Marco Rubio.  Push Digital’s focus on digital advertising, voter modeling, and online fundraising have also powered the congressional campaigns of House Chief Deputy Minority Whip Drew Ferguson of Georgia and former House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.

“Jeff Van Drew has completely failed South Jersey voters.  He spent over a decade supporting the Democratic majority in the state legislature and making New Jersey one of the highest-taxed and most anti-business states in the country,” said Richter.  “Now, after running as a conservative Democrat, Van Drew has voted in Washington with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nearly 90% of the time.  We need a real conservative in Congress who will work hard for smaller government, lower taxes and secure borders, and who will fight to protect, not undermine, our constitutional rights,” added Richter.

New Jersey’s Second Congressional District includes all of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties as well as parts of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Ocean counties.

Richter is the former CEO of global construction management firm Hill International.  A lifelong Republican, he grew up in and has spent most of his life living and working in South Jersey.  He earned two bachelor’s degrees and a law degree from Penn as well as master’s degrees from Oxford and Harvard.  Richter and his wife Michelle, who have been married for 20 years, are the parents of four daughters.