¶ How to Win Against Jeff Van Drew
Jeff Van Drew was an opportunistic politician who changed his party allegiance depending on who was polling better. From the moment he switched to the Republican Party in 2019, Van Drew worked to make life harder for New Jerseyans, and has been nothing but a rubber stamp for Trump’s destructive agenda throughout 2025. He voted to kick more than 30,000 New Jerseyans in his district off their health coverage by supporting the Big Ugly Bill, forcing a New Jersey hospital to cancel an expansion and hamstringing a New Jersey program supporting local hospitals. In the same vote, he passed the biggest cuts to SNAP in history, ignoring that over 36,000 households in his district relied on the program. Van Drew was also working to make life harder for seniors as a member of the Republican Study Committee. The group staunchly advocated for raising the retirement age and turning Medicare into a voucher system. Van Drew was an early supporter of DOGE, joining the Congressional DOGE caucus and defending the agency’s debunked claims that 150-year-olds were receiving Social Security benefits. When the agency cut hundreds of millions in federal grants for New Jersey health departments, Van Drew turned a blind eye. He said Trump was “doing the right thing” by instituting tariffs that were contributing to “mega-layoffs” across the country, squeezing New Jersey families, and crippling his state’s port economy. All he had to say about the damage Trump was wreaking was: “hang tough.” He infamously abandoned the Democratic party and became a Republican in 2019, claiming that he didn’t care about political labels and neither did his voters. A closer look at the situation showed that New Jersey Democratic leaders and voters were fed up with Van Drew, and instead of gracefully bowing out in 2020 he saw a chance to extend his political career.
¶ Van Drew Voted For Devastating Health Care Cuts
- Van Drew voted for a bill that would kick 17 million Americans off their health insurance, including nearly 12 million Americans off of Medicaid. More than 30,000 New Jerseyans in his district could lose their health coverage as a result of his votes, a hospital in New Jersey was forced to cancel an expansion in anticipation of lost funds, and the New Jersey Health Administration warned of potential hospital closures due to the cuts.
Message: Van Drew voted to take health coverage from New Jerseyans to give billionaires tax breaks.
¶ Van Drew Supported Massive Cuts To Medicare And Belong To A Group That Wanted To Raise The Social Security retirement Age
- In May and July 2025, Van Drew voted for Republicans’ reconciliation bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated would trigger more than $500 billion in cuts to Medicare absent future congressional action.
- Van Drew was a member of the Republican Study Committee, which was a staunch advocate for raising the age at which seniors would be eligible to collect Social Security. The Committee claimed that the age increase was essential for keeping Social Security solvent, ignoring that a higher retirement age would cut the median-wage retiree’s benefits by thousands of dollars every year. The Committee also advocated for switching to a “premium support” healthcare system, which would raise health care costs for most beneficiaries.
Message: Van Drew worked to make health care more expensive and less accessible for New Jersey seniors.
¶ Van Drew Voted To Cut Food Assistance His Constituents Rely On To Afford Groceries
- Van Drew voted for a bill that made the largest SNAP cut in history. Over 36,000 households, making up 11.7% of his district, relied on SNAP to afford groceries.
Message: Van Drew voted to cut food assistance his constituents relied on to afford groceries, all to give tax cuts to billionaires.
¶ Van Drew Was The Deciding Vote To Protect Trump’s Tariffs
- Van Drew said Trump was “doing the right thing” after he imposed tariffs on nearly every country on Earth and told Americans suffering from the tariffs to “hang tough.” Then, he voted six times to protect the tariffs, including in April 2025 when he was the deciding vote to protect them, dooming New Jersey families who relied on him to a trade war and causing New Jerseyans to pull back on spending due to high prices. Tariffs are contributing to higher food prices, could raise car insurance rates, and “mega-layoffs” across the nation.
Message: Van Drew told New Jerseyans paying higher prices and struggling to afford food for their families to “hang tough” through Trump’s tariffs.
¶ Van Drew Supported An Agency That Laid Off Federal Workers And Hamstrung Social Security
- Van Drew was a vocal supporter of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” Van Drew joinedthe Congressional “Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE)” Caucus in order to support the agency’s agenda, and defended DOGE’s debunked claim that 150-year-olds were receiving Social Security benefits.
- While Van Drew was defending DOGE, New Jerseyans were suffering due to the agency’s actions. DOGE’s downsizing efforts were affecting the federal government’s ability to deliver services to seniors, and its federal funding cuts threatened to hamstring New Jersey community support organizations and health departments. More than 200,000 New Jerseyans in Van Drew’s district relied on Social Security benefits and more than 8,000 were employed by the federal government.
Message: Van Drew defended DOGE while it cut jobs and caused seniors to wait longer for services.
¶ It Took Van Drew 11 Months To Vote To release The Epstein Files
- Van Drew voted twice to protect the accused pedophiles named in the Epstein files, and never signed Rep. Thomas Massie’s discharge petition that called for the Epstein files to be released. Only after Trump signaled it was okay did Van Drew vote to release the files and tout how “proud” he was to vote for their release.
Message: Van Drew voted to protect the accused pedophiles named in the Epstein files until Trump signaled it was okay to vote to release the files.
¶ Van Drew Was A Political Flip-Flopper
- Van Drew claimed he did not care about political labels, and that New Jerseyans in his district did not care whether he was a Democrat or Republican. News out of New Jersey, though, showed that Van Drew became increasingly unpopular with local Democratic leaders and voters over his opposition to Trump’s impeachment, and decided to jump ship and hope to save his reelection chances by labeling himself a Republican.
Message: How can New Jerseyans trust Van Drew to fight for their interests in Congress if he switches his political allegiance at the first sign of difficulty?
¶ Issue Briefs
¶ Van Drew Supported Policies That Hurt Everyday New Jerseyans
Van Drew Voted To Take Health Coverage From New Jerseyans
Van Drew Supported Policies That Put Services Seniors Relied On At-Risk
Van Drew Voted To Cut Food Assistance For New Jerseyans
Van Drew Voted To Protect Tariffs That Raised Prices On New Jerseyans
Van Drew Supported An Agency That Weakened The Social Security Administration And Laid Off Federal Workers
¶ Van Drew Used His Power To Benefit Himself And The Powerful
It Took Van Drew 11 Months To Vote To Release The Epstein Files
Van Drew Was A Political Opportunist
Van Drew's Key Votes In Congress