OPINION: Jeff Van Drew Should NOT Give Any Refunds Of Campaign Donations

Jeff Van Drew

Before I begin, I have no dog in the CD2 fight. As of today, it still looks like there will be a GOP primary in the district. I have friends who are running (they probably won’t like this blog post). I haven’t endorsed anyone, and I won’t. I live in CD1 and can’t vote for any of them anyway.

With all that said, there are Democrats still upset that Congressman Jeff Van Drew flipped and became a Republican. They are so upset that our friends over at New Jersey Globe reported that “The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is pushing Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s donors to ask for their money back…” From New Jersey Globe:

“We’re being very aggressive on that front,” Lucinda Guinn, the DCCC executive director, said on a conference call this afternoon.

Guinn said that the House Democrats’ campaign arm is helping donors recover donations made to Van Drew before his December announcement that he was switching parties.

“We have sent out an e-mail to our folks in New Jersey giving them instructions on how to ask for their money back,” Guinn said.  “We are helping donors do anything they can to recover their donations to Jeff Van Drew. Many of our members and donors have already requested their money back as well.”

Congressman, if you are reading this, DO NOT GIVE THE MONEY BACK!

The Democrats did not call on state Senator Dawn Addiego to return donations to Republicans after she switched parties and became a Democrat. Calling on Van Drew to return the donations makes them hypocrites, but that’s nothing new.

The Pine Barrens Tribune in reporting that many Republicans wanted their money back after Addiego’s switch pointed out that she didn’t have to return any money:

However, Joseph Donohue, deputy director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), a state agency which monitors the campaign financing of all elections in the state, said there is no rule that a candidate must refund money if they switch parties.

“Of course, there also is no rule stopping them from doing so voluntarily,” he said. “Keep in mind that most candidates probably receive checks from constituents of both parties, regardless of their affiliation.”

I’m betting if anyone called the Federal Election Commission (FEC) they would get a similar answer.

Besides, if you are so moved that you are writing a check to a candidate you’re doing so because you believe in what that candidate believes. That means if you wrote a check to Van Drew after at least March 29, 2019, when Van Drew appeared on Fox News, you knew that he believed in strong border security and stopping the impeachment talk:

Starting at about the 2 minute 35 second mark of the video Van Drew says, “We need to have a physical barrier, we do need some wall, we do need vertical structure…” At the 5:27 mark Van Drew says, “For us to stop asking for impeachment of the President.”

Not only did Congressman Van Drew speak out against impeachment, he also spoke in favor of strong border security. There is video to prove it! If you wrote him a check, you should have known where he stood on the issues. And, if you didn’t do your homework before writing your check, then shame on you. Buyer’s remorse is not a reason to ask for a refund.

Congressman, keep the money and if you have any to spare share the wealth. Send some of it to Camden and Gloucester so they can keep the Norcross machine money in his backyard.