U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew concedes to Democrat Zack Mullock in South Jersey upset

The Cape May mayor defeated the four-term Republican incumbent in a district Donald Trump won by more than 12 percentage points in 2024.

Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew conceded defeat to Democrat Zack Mullock on Tuesday night, clearing the way for the Cape May mayor to represent New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District after an upset in the longtime Republican stronghold.

Van Drew, who was seeking a fifth term in Congress, acknowledged Mullock’s victory in remarks to supporters Tuesday night, even before The Associated Press had not yet called the race.

Mullock’s victory flips a Republican-held seat in the closely watched battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats also won New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, where Rebecca Bennett defeated two-term Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.

The 2nd District covers Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties, along with parts of Gloucester and Ocean counties. It includes Atlantic City, Vineland, and much of the southern Jersey Shore.

The district had been considered safely Republican heading into the election. Van Drew won reelection in 2024 by nearly 17 percentage points, while President Donald Trump carried the district by about 12.6 percentage points that year.

A Cape May business owner serving his second term as mayor, Mullock, 40, has spent eight years on the city’s governing body, including six as mayor, and previously worked as construction manager for the Harriet Tubman Museum.

Mullock identified affordability as his top campaign priority. He supports Medicare for All, expanding federal incentives for affordable housing, and increasing taxes on large corporations and wealthy Americans to help fund programs aimed at lowering costs for working families.

Democrats poured money into the race in the final weeks of the campaign as they saw an opportunity to flip a district long considered safely Republican. The Democratic-aligned super PAC Project 218 committed $1.5 million to television advertising aimed at defeating Van Drew. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic power broker George Norcross helped raise the $1.5 million.

Sherrill also campaigned alongside Mullock in Cape May County on Saturday, three days before the election, as Democrats made a final push to unseat Van Drew.

National issues, including the cost of living, Trump’s war with Iran, immigration enforcement, and federal health care policy, also shaped the campaign.

Van Drew, 73, a retired dentist from Dennis Township, has spent more than three decades in South Jersey politics. A former Democrat, he served as mayor of Dennis Township, as a Cape May County freeholder, and a member of both the New Jersey General Assembly and state Senate before winning his congressional seat in 2018.

He switched to the Republican Party in 2019 after breaking with Democrats over efforts to impeach Trump. During a White House meeting announcing his decision, Van Drew pledged his “undying support” to Trump and subsequently became one of the president’s most prominent allies in New Jersey.

Van Drew also defended the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, including conditions at Delaney Hall, the privately operated immigration detention center in Newark.

In July, he chaired a congressional hearing that disputed reports of mistreatment at Delaney Hall. Van Drew said his visit to the facility showed detainees received adequate food, medical care, and recreational opportunities. Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, challenged that account, testifying about detainees who reported medical neglect, unsafe food, and other serious problems.

Speaking to a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter after his defeat Tuesday night, Van Drew attributed his loss to a national political wave rather than dissatisfaction with his performance in Congress. He compared the election to the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, when Republicans suffered widespread losses.

“There’s no Watergate issue, but it’s kind of like Watergate, where it’s larger than life, and just swept people along with it that weren’t necessarily doing anything wrong or did a bad job,” Van Drew said.

He said he had no regrets about switching parties, describing himself as more Republican than he had ever been a Democrat. He also emphasized his friendship with Trump and compared his defeat to that of former Republican Rep. Charles Sandman, a Cape May County congressman who lost his seat in the 1974 Democratic wave after remaining loyal to President Richard Nixon.

Van Drew said he spoke with Mullock after the election, congratulated him, and wished him success, arguing that his successor’s success would benefit the country.