Runyan Qualifies for More GOP Aid
The National Republican Congressional Committee said Wednesday it considers 3rd Congressional District candidate Jon Runyan “a contender,” meaning he’ll get more campaign help from the national party.
The NRCC promoted the former Philadelphia Eagle to the second level of its three-tier training program for House challengers.
“Jon Runyan has met a series of rigorous fundraising and campaign goals that will go a long way in helping to put this seat back in the Republican column,” said NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in a statement.
More than 100 Republican candidates are enrolled in the committee’s Young Guns program, which generally comprises challengers in competitive districts.
Though the NRCC has outperformed House Democrats’ fundraising arm in recent months, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had about double the cash on hand as of the end of June, with $34 million.
The campaign of Runyan’s opponent, freshman Democrat John Adler, has touted its 4-to-1 campaign cash advantage over Runyan as proof that support for a GOP takeover simply doesn’t exist in the 3rd congressional district, which stretches from Cherry Hill to the shore. As of the quarter ending June 30, Adler had $1.9 million to Runyan’s $472,000.
Runyan worried some Republicans when lackluster donations greeted his entry in the race in mid-March. The conservative-leaning 3rd district is the most competitive in the state.
But Runyan has been back on offense since the Adler campaign last week released partial results of a commissioned poll that raised the profile of third-party candidate Peter DeStefano.
Until then, the Mount Laurel man had done no obvious campaigning. Though he is running on the NJ Tea Party line, area Tea Party groups have formally advised members not to give him their vote.
That action follows a Courier-Post report Monday raising questions about DeStefano’s authenticity and his possible connections to South Jersey Democrats. Though DeStefano has been in sporadic phone contact with the paper since last Thursday, he has not cooperated with attempts to verify his identity in person. On Wednesday, DeStefano canceled his third interview with the Courier-Post.
Despite announcing via Facebook and Twitter he would represent his painting business at the Burlington County Farm Fair Wednesday, he was not at the fairgrounds.
Workers confirmed DeStefano had purchased vendor space. His voice mail box was full Wednesday afternoon and he did not answer several phone calls.
“What I’ve found pretty alarming is just how sloppy he’s been in his efforts to derail Jon Runyan’s candidacy,” said William Layton, chairman of the Burlington County Republican Committee.
In a brief telephone conversation ahead of the scheduled interview Wednesday, DeStefano dismissed Adler as “a rich guy” and an “independent centralist.”
“John Adler believes that the path to victory is shady political maneuvering and using Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi’s attack machine when we want to talk about the issues,” said Tory Mazzola, an NRCC spokesman.
After a week of silence on the DeStefano matter, Adler campaign manager Geoff Mackler said via e-mail, “Washington insiders and party leaders realize that the Runyan campaign is desperate and failing. Despite announcing his candidacy eight months ago, he is still way behind in the polls and in financial support.”
No independent polls have been conducted in the district, and several polling experts concluded Adler’s internal poll was unreliable.
“No staff member on John Adler’s campaign has contacted Peter DeStefano or his campaign,” Mackler continued. We are focused on our own campaign and getting our message of fiscal responsibility out.”
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