Remember Patricia and Mark McCloskey?
If the names don’t register, the incident will. They are the St. Louis couple who pointed guns at George Floyd protest marchers during the heyday of such activity in 2020.
Proving that there is always a Jersey connection, the McCloskeys have popped up in state politics – specifically in CD-11.
Mikie Sherrill won that once solidly-Republican district in 2018 and has fended off two opponents since – a feat made easier by redistricting after the 2020 Census.
Given the fact she got nearly 60 percent of the vote two years ago, GOP interest in finding a challenger to Sherrill this year seems to have waned considerably.
The leading candidate appears to be Joseph Belnome of Belleville, who ran last year unsuccessfully for the state Senate in the 34th District.
Belnome’s social media accounts portray a staunch conservative, which brings us to the McCloskeys – they have endorsed him.
Belnome’s web page features both Patricia and Mark with the latter holding a semi-automatic weapon and his wife a handgun.
Mark McCloskey says it’s time to send a “true constitutional conservative” to Congress from the 11th District and Belnome’s your man. (his name was spelled wrong, but let’s ignore the small details).
This was still a rather amazing endorsement.
One viewing it has to wonder just how a guy from Missouri wielding a semi-automatic firearm is going to play in, say, Mountain Lakes, Chatham, or West Caldwell. Probably not well.
At any rate, Monday at 4 p.m. was the primary candidate filing deadline in New Jersey. Nothing at least on the congressional level tops the McCloskeys entrance in state politics.
In truth, much of the oxygen was sucked out of the deadline after Tammy Murphy’s Sunday’s withdrawal from the Senate race.
But there was some news on the Republican side.
Last Saturday, Alex Zdan was making the rounds at a crowded diner in Jefferson, telling people he was running for U.S. Senate
The one-time News 12 TV personality said he was looking forward to an April 3 debate with fellow candidates Curtis Bashaw and Christine Serrano Glassner.
But then … things changed and he dropped out.
Zdan said on Monday:
“While I am incredibly proud to have received so much support from people looking for a new voice in Washington and to have received the endorsements of Monmouth and Passaic Counties, I believe it is best to avoid a long, contentious and expensive Senate primary.”
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As the election season heats up in New Jersey, one topic that continues to be at the forefront of discussions is gun control. With recent mass shootings and increased violence in cities across the country, the issue of gun regulation has become a key point of contention among politicians and voters alike.
New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, with regulations on everything from purchasing firearms to carrying them in public. In fact, the state has been ranked as having the second toughest gun laws in the nation by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Despite these strict laws, gun violence remains a problem in New Jersey. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 200 gun-related incidents in the state so far this year, resulting in over 100 deaths. This has led many residents to call for even stricter regulations on firearms.
In the current election season, candidates are being forced to take a stance on gun control in order to win over voters. Some are advocating for more stringent background checks and waiting periods for purchasing firearms, while others are calling for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
One of the key players in the debate over gun control in New Jersey is Governor Phil Murphy. Since taking office in 2018, Murphy has made gun control a top priority, signing several pieces of legislation aimed at reducing gun violence in the state. These include measures such as requiring background checks for private gun sales and banning armor-piercing ammunition.
However, not everyone is on board with Murphy’s approach to gun control. Some critics argue that the governor’s policies infringe on their Second Amendment rights and do little to address the root causes of gun violence.
As the election season progresses, it will be interesting to see how the issue of gun control continues to shape the political landscape in New Jersey. With so much at stake, candidates will need to carefully consider their positions on this contentious issue in order to win over voters and secure their place in office.
