“MAKE THE GOP GRAND AGAIN”

Wefer files petition to run for U.S. Senate, making her one of only two Republican women running for Congress in New Jersey in the Year of the Woman

Englewood Cliffs, NJ   Dana Wefer, a Bergen County attorney, mother, and government reform activist filed a petition to run for U.S. Senate. Wefer and another woman, Lindsay Brown, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the 7^th Congressional District against incumbent Leonard Lance, are the only two Republican women who filed to run for Congress.  Neither has establishment party support and both are former Democrats.

Wefer’s ballot slogan, “Make the GOP Grand Again” was inspired by conversations she had with Republican Party members as she knocked on more than 1000 doors to gather signatures for her nominating petition.  “The Republicans I spoke with are not insiders, many don’t even vote in primaries, and they have a very different perspective of the NJ GOP than the party insiders do,” Wefer said.  “At least 3 times a day, I had people tell me they weren’t Republican anymore or that even though they are registered Republican, they don’t want to associate with the party.  There is a general sense of disillusionment, even disgust.  It’s a very different group than the Republicans who show up to events and participate actively in party politics.”

Her slogan also captures Wefer’s views on the role the Republican Party has in NJ politics. “We need a minimum of two strong parties for our system to work,” Wefer said.  “The minority party plays a critical role in keeping government honest and providing a check on runaway government.  We owe it to the people to do better.”   Wefer says her candidacy is about growing the NJ Republican Party.  “We can’t persuade people if we can’t get their attention, and we can’t get their attention if we’re doing the same thing we’ve always done.  My candidacy is a sharp departure from business as usual, and I hope that it will lay the foundation for party growth in the years to come.”

Wefer has a well-established history of fighting for efficient and ethical government as the former volunteer chair of the Hoboken Housing Authority where she blew the whistle on an assemblyman who was using the housing authority to give out no-bid contracts to campaign contributors.  As an attorney she litigated the NJ Supreme Court case Mazdabrook v. Khan, which preserved and expanded the right to political free speech in New Jersey.