Today, Nick De Gregorio, a Marine veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, announced his intention to run for Congress in New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District.

“With the warm encouragement of my loving family, friends, and leaders here in New Jersey, I am proud to announce my run for New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District. It was the honor of my lifetime to serve my country in uniform, and I would be humbled to have the support of the people from my home district in representing their voice in Congress,” said De Gregorio.

He continued: “Right now, Washington just isn’t listening to us. Democrats like Josh Gottheimer, led by Nancy Pelosi, are shoving through inflationary spending bills with trillion-dollar price tags that Garden State families pay for in the form of skyrocketing grocery bills, rising energy costs, and pain at the pump. They stood by as the President recklessly withdrew from Afghanistan, endangering American lives, and opened the southern border wide open with no regard to the humanitarian crisis he needlessly created.

“But perhaps most troubling is the Democrats’ attempt to remake America in a woke, socialist image that replaces parents with government bureaucrats and robs future generations of the American Dream. I fought for my country once, and for the sake of my children – and all of our children, I will be proud to serve once again to protect the country we love,” De Gregorio concluded.

Gottheimer offered the following quote in response to the Republican’s announcement:

“If Nick emerges as the candidate, I am glad to see that he agrees with me on issues like opposing socialism. Everyone knows how much I believe in bipartisan governing.”

Nick De Gregorio is a lifelong resident of Bergen County, raised in both Glen Rock and Ridgewood.

At the age of 16, he was sitting in a high school classroom in Oradell when terrorists struck the World Trade Center just 12 miles away. It was then that he made the first adult decision of his life: to serve his country.

De Gregorio answered his country’s call to serve in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and he joined the United States Marine Corps. Over the course of nine years, he deployed four times, fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It was the honor of his lifetime to serve his country.

The candidate lives in Fair Lawn with his wife Emily, who during the COVID-19 pandemic worked as a nurse on the front lines, along with their two children Siena Reagan and Luca Cordell. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and Masters Degrees from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service, with distinction.

About New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District

New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District encompasses parts of Bergen, Sussex, Passaic, and Warren Counties. In the unofficial results of the 2021 election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is on track to win the district. It has a Cook Political Report rating of R+1 PVI.