New Jersey's 5th congressional district election, 2006

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Jersey's 5th congressional district— Scott Garrett (R) won in 2004 with 58% of the vote against an underfunded Anne Wolfe in what is normally a Republican district. His strongly conservative views were the subject of some controversy: for example, he was one of only a few Republicans to vote against the emergency aid to Hurricane Katrina victims, and he opposed renewing the Voting Rights Act. Aronsohn blasted Garrett on the issues of stem-cell research, health care, public education, social security, and veterans' issues. Democrat Paul Aronsohn challenged Garrett; with more support from the Democrats as well as several towns within the district won by Corzine in the governor's race, it was thought that this could be a pickup opportunity. This district gave George W. Bush a 184,530 - 137,019 plurality over John Kerry in 2004 and the district was one of two New Jersey districts carried by Bob Dole in 1996 when he lost badly in the rest of the state. CQPolitics rating: Republican Favored. Results: Garrett defeated Aronsohn, 55% to 44%.

[edit] Paul Aronsohn

Paul Aronsohn was the Democratic Party nominee. Aronsohn was 40 years old and lived in Ridgewood at the time of the election. He was a former staffer in the Clinton Administration and in the administration of former Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. He worked on foreign policy and national security issues in Clinton's State Department and worked as Communications Director and Spokesman for former governor McGreevey for one year. Aronsohn recently resigned his position as a public affairs executive for Pfizer to focus on his campaign. Aronsohn is a graduate of George Washington University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Communication and a Master of Arts in Political Science. During school, he was a congressional intern for former Democratic Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey and Senator Charles Robb of Virginia. Aronsohn also served three American ambassadors to the United Nations:Madeleine Albright, Bill Richardson, and Richard Holbrooke.

On May 22, 2006, Aronsohn was sued for libel by his Democratic primary opponent, Camille Abate. Aronsohn claimed in a press release that (before this election) Abate had never been a registered Democrat. Abate countered that she was a registered Democrat when she originally registered to vote (at age 18) and when she lived out of state^[1]. Aronsohn defeated Abate 66% to 33% in the Primary Election held on June 6, 2006 ^[2].

On September 22, 2006, Aronsohn appeared on The Colbert Report as part of the program's Better Know a District segment, after Garrett declined to appear.