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Trenton, NJ: Recent news reports show that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that New York will raise indoor dining to 75% as of Monday, May 19th with a likely full reopening by July 1st which follows New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio’s reopening plan. Additional reports show that Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has announced that all restrictions will be lifted as of May 19th. While New Jersey’s neighboring states plan to reopen, Phil Murphy has dragged his feet on fully lifting his self-imposed restrictions.

New Jersey Republican State Committee Executive Director Tom Szymanski issued the following statement:

“Our message to Governor Murphy is a simple one: Re-open our state to 100% capacity and lift all your unilateral economic restrictions today, or don’t bother showing up to your self-promoting press conference.

“Murphy has long been suffocating New Jersey’s economy with his arbitrary and unilateral economic restrictions, evidenced by New Jersey having the 7th worst unemployment rate in the nation, and the fact that one in three small businesses have closed for good. Anything short of a full re-opening will be a continued death sentence for thousands of small businesses.

“Governor Murphy has had no problem blindly following neighboring states on a myriad of oppressive actions over the past year, and yet when it comes to re-opening the economy and getting New Jerseyans back to work, he is unsurprisingly dragging his feet.

“The long road to getting New Jersey back on track begins in earnest when we change Governors in November, but in the meantime Phil Murphy must end his dictatorial executive orders and get New Jersey small businesses back to work immediately.”

Trenton, NJ: Following Governor Murphy’s failure to meaningfully ease economic restrictions on Garden State businesses during today’s press conference, New Jersey Republican State Committee Executive Director Tom Szymanski issued the following response:

“New Jersey’s economy continues to go belly up as we’ve experienced 1/3rd of small businesses close for good and the 7th worst unemployment rate in the nation, and yet Phil Murphy’s abhorrent lack of judgement and compassion was on full display again today as he refused to lift his self-imposed restrictions on many small businesses, including indoor dining establishments.

“Perhaps we should not be surprised that the needs of small businesses and the middle class are not front of mind for an out of touch far-left millionaire living in a $10 million mansion high on the banks of the Navesink River.

“Rather than following the science coming out of many states which are seeing a decline in COVID numbers after fully re-opening, Murphy continues to let the cries of unemployed workers and struggling small business owners fall on deaf ears. Getting New Jersey back on track and back to work starts with changing governors this November.”

Trenton: In the 2020 election, Republican candidates around the country improved their standing with Hispanic and Latino communities. To further engage with this community, the New Jersey Republican Party is proud to launch a new part of its website, NJGOP en Español. This page provides general information on what the GOP stands for and introduces our leaders. 

New Jersey Republicans are a big tent party, welcoming people of all backgrounds who support our core values and priorities of freedom, limited government, with a focus on reducing government spending, lowering taxes, and growing jobs. The party will continue to engage with the Hispanic and Latino communities in various ways moving forward. 

NJGOP en Español can be viewed by going to NJGOP.org/espanol.

Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following statement:

“Over the last several years, the Republican Party has made great strides to reach out to voters that predominantly speak spanish and this new website will ensure that voters across New Jersey have the opportunity to learn more about the Republican Party in New Jersey. We will continue to reach out to this community and ensure that spanish speaking voters in New Jersey know that Governor Murphy and his radical liberal colleagues have failed our state, that leading Democrats support socialist-style policies on the federal level, and that it is time to elect strong Republican leaders for a better New Jersey.”

Trenton: The Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ March update on state-by-state Unemployment shows that New Jersey’s unemployment rate has increased again. 

The new data shows that New Jersey’s unemployment rate is 7.9%, which puts the state among the top ten worst states for unemployment.

On top of the high rate, the unemployment situation in New Jersey has been made worse by Governor Murphy’s failure to manage the Unemployment office and get needed benefits distributed promptly. 

Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following comment:

“New Jersey was hit hard by the Coronavirus, but it is clear that the Governor’s mismanagement of the virus and the restrictions he put on our people and businesses made our economy worse than it needed to be. The Governor has raised taxes, raised fees, raised regulations, and as a result, raised our unemployment rate. One third of our small businesses are gone, and Murphy’s policy choices were, in large part, to blame. As we emerge from the Covid crisis, our state needs a governor who has a new perspective, a focus on jobs for New Jerseyans, and a pro growth mindset. Phil Murphy has none of those, and must be defeated this fall.”

Trenton: First Lady Jill Biden appeared in New Jersey today to tout the Biden Administration’s disastrous “American Rescue Plan.”

The final “American Rescue Plan” totaled a whopping 1.9 trillion dollars, while only 9% of the total funds was allocated to directly combating Covid-19. The law includes funds allocated to fulfill liberal pipedreams, including $270 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, $112 million for a subway system in Silicon Valley and $1.5 million for a bridge from New York into Canada. Even the White House Press Secretary said it’s “the most progressive piece of legislation in history.”

NJGOP Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following statement:

“No amount of grandstanding from Biden administration officials will make this bill an actual COVID relief bill. The Biden administration can continue to call it a COVID relief bill all they want, but New Jerseyans and Americans know that this bill allocates a majority of the funds to liberal pipedreams while less than 10% is actually being spent on crushing the virus. This bill will burden our taxpayers with additional debt and taxes that our children will be paying for. New Jersey and our country deserves better than this progressive wishlist with the word “relief” tacked on to it.”

Trenton: Reports indicate that House Majority Forward will be launching an “ad blitz” in NJ-3 in support of Rep. Andy Kim. In 2019 House Majority Forward was launched as an affiliate of House Majority PAC, a Super PAC focused on electing Democrats to the House of Representatives.

House Majority PAC is Nancy Pelosi’s Super PAC that accepts unlimited contributions.

House Majority Forward is a dark money group and does not disclose its donors.

Rep. Andy Kim is a vocal opponent of dark money in politics, but appears to be okay with House Majority Forward, and others, funnelling dark money into the 3rd district on his behalf.

Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following statement:

“Andy Kim says he opposes dark money in politics, then turns around and accepts these dark money groups spending heavily in the Third District. Andy Kim is saying one thing, doing another, and the people of Burlington and Ocean County deserve better. Kim needs to publicly denounce the spending of this dark money group in his district, or just simply say he’s no longer opposed to dark money in politics. He can’t have it both ways.”

Trenton: In addition to joining Governor Murphy in ordering COVID-positive patients back into nursing homes, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is an admitted sexual harasser, and leading Democrats are calling for his resignation.

Mikie Sherrill accepted a major campaign contribution from Governor Cuomo’s PAC. She has also previously accepted several large contributions from Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer, Rodgin Cohen. 

NJGOP Executive Director Phil Valenziano issued the following statement:

“Congresswoman Sherrill talks a good game about #MeToo, but has been short on action as a culture of harassment surrounds Governor Murphy. Now that Governor Cuomo has admitted to sexually inappropriate comments, and been credibly accused of harassment three times, Sherrill needs to join in the calls for his resignation, and return the campaign funds he’s sent her way. If not, NJ11 will rightly see her words as hollow, and no doubt remember them next fall.”

Trenton: A new report  shows that Congressman Tom Malinowski failed to disclose his stock trading activity to the House of Representatives.

The Bipartisan STOCK act requires Members of Congress to disclose their stock activity within 45 days. Malinowski failed to disclose dozens of stock transactions, totaling potentially as much as $2.76 Million. Failure to do so is in violation of federal law.

NJGOP Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following comment:

“It is extremely concerning that, in the middle of the pandemic and accompanying market turmoil, Congressman Malinowski’s brokerage account was launching a flurry of transactions that we are only now learning about. This is especially true because the Congressman faced the voters last fall, and failed to provide them legally required information that would inform their vote. The people of NJ-7 deserve transparency and ethical representation, and this apparent violation of federal law should be fully investigated.”

Trenton: After hearing the concerns of New Jersey voters before, during, and after the 2020 Primary and General Elections, the New Jersey Republican State Committee (NJGOP) convened an Election Improvement Committee of electoral experts from across the state to discuss the issues that occurred during the 2020 election cycle and solutions to them.

 Some of the most frequently reported issues included extreme voter confusion, ballots being sent to moved or deceased people, duplicate ballots, slow and opaque ballot counting, inconsistent drop box policies, Motor Vehicle Commission driven registrations rife with error and many others. 

 The NJGOP has put forward a set of recommendations to address these and other issues with the New Jersey electoral process. 

Click here to view the full report released by the NJGOP Election Improvement Committee.

Chairman Michael Lavery issued the following comment: 

“Over the last year, the NJGOP has been a leader in ensuring that the integrity of New Jersey’s elections remains strong. I am proud of the work that this committee has accomplished, and I thank all of the members for their valuable time and expertise. These recommendations are appropriate, achievable, non-partisan, and will ensure fair and free elections in New Jersey for years to come. I look forward to working with the proper entities and officials to implement these recommendations immediately so that New Jerseyans can continue to have faith in our electoral process.”

Trenton: In the middle of the night, Democrats in the House of Representatives approved a liberal wishlist spending bill masked as a COVID-19 relief bill.

Reps. Gottheimer, Sherrill, Malinowski, and Kim voted for this bill. This $1.9 trillion dollar spending bill, being dubbed as a COVID relief bill, spends less than half of the funds on COVID-related items. The majority goes to liberal pork, such as:

• $200 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Service
• $270 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities
• $112 million for a subway system in Silicon Valley
• 130 billion for public schools, with nearly all of the money being spent post-pandemic.
• $1.5 million for a bridge from New York into Canada
• A $15 dollar national minimum wage, which in turn will kill 1.4 million jobs

NJGOP Executive Director Phil Valenziano said:

“New Jersey has the highest COVID death rate in the entire world, one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, and a majority of its schools being taught virtually, yet Reps. Gottheimer, Kim, Malinowski, and Sherrill voted to fund art museums, a subway in San Jose, and a bridge to Canada, while their constituents suffer. By voting for this rushed spending bill loaded up with pork, Reps. Malinowski, Kim, Sherrill, and Gottheimer are showing New Jersey that they care more about pleasing their political patrons than helping our state. These vulnerable Democrats are out of touch with what their constituents need, and will pay the price for that at the polls next fall.”