US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) at a press conference in Bergenfield, New Jersey, US on June 5, 2023. Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) announced on Friday that he will launch a campaign to become the next governor of New Jersey.

Gottheimer, who is Jewish, announced his decision in front of a packed crowd in a diner. He told the audience that he aims to raise living standards and lower expenses for the state’s residents if he wins office. 

“Jersey has given me and my family so much opportunity. I want to make sure everyone has the same shot to get a degree, go into a trade, start a business or get a good paying job, to raise their families, and do it all year,” Gottheimer said. 

Gottheimer added that he wants to reduce the tax burden and slash bureaucracy for the residents of New Jersey, claiming that they stymie the state’s economic competitiveness.

The lawmaker also announced that he plans to help defend New Jersey’s Jewish population by enforcing the law “against the antisemites who are harassing Jewish or any other communities all over this state.”

During his time in the US House of Representatives, Gottheimer has established himself as a bipartisan problem solver and a strong ally of Israel. He has often criticized the progressive wing of the Democratic party for taking adversarial positions against the Jewish state. 

In the year following Hamas’s slaughter of roughly 1,200 people throughout southern Israel last Oct. 7, he has positioned himself as a stalwart defender of the Jewish state, urging the US federal government to continue to assist Israel in defeating the Palestinian terrorist group and rescuing the remaining hostages in Gaza.

He has advocated for furnishing the Jewish state with arms to defeat Hamas and has condemned members of his own party who feel otherwise as “despicable.” In the past, the lawmaker has also vowed to “kill” any burgeoning efforts to place conditions on aid to Israel.

Gottheimer lambasted the French government for calling for an international arms embargo against Israel, stating that such requests “embolden” Iran and its terrorist proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. The lawmaker additionally spearheaded legislation that would condition American aid to the Maldives after its government moved to ban Israeli citizens from entering the country.