WELLE FOR CONGRESS CAMPAIGN RAISES $1 MILLION IN CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONATIONS

(Eatontown, NJ) Today Josh Welle, Candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 4th Congressional District, announced that his campaign has raised over $1 million in contributions for the campaign cycle to date.

“This is unprecedented in the history of the 4th Congressional District. The most amount of money that has ever been raised in this district against Chris Smith was $480,000 in 2008, and today, we more than doubled that,” Josh Welle said in a statement. “What we’re seeing across Mercer, Ocean, and Monmouth counties is that people are tired of having an absentee, career politician who no longer represents our values, especially on women’s rights and inclusion. People in central Jersey and the country are calling for a new generation of leaders. ”

The Welle campaign is the most significant threat to Representative Chris Smith’s 19-term incumbency since Smith was first elected to Congress 38 years ago. In July, the Welle campaign first made waves when it raised $500,000—more money raised and in a shorter amount of time than any other Democratic challenger to Chris Smith. Now, less than two months later, Welle has increased this number to $1 million without taking money from corporate PACs—unlike the Smith campaign. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says it’s aiming to win all five seats held by Republicans in New Jersey. DCCC Spokesman, Evan Lukaske told Yahoo News in August, “New Jersey will play a significant role in our effort to take back the House.”

“People are showing up. And they’re showing up because their Congressman, Chris Smith, isn’t. Smith hasn’t held a town hall in 25 years and despite repeated invitations to a public debate, he still refuses to face the people of the district he claims to represent,” said Josh Welle. “Every dollar, door knock, and phone call is a citizen of this district telling Chris Smith that they won’t take it anymore and they want to be heard.”