Mullock, Van Drew clash over immigration, energy, economy
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP — U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew and Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock sparred for an hour Oct. 22 in a spirited debate ahead of the Second Congressional District election Nov. 3.
Mullock continually tied the four-term Republican to the highly unpopular President Donald Trump, while Van Drew accused his challenger of being a liar, calling him “Pinocchio” multiple times.
The Democrat was almost equally immature, interrupting the congressman multiple times and talking over him at others while panelists Alyssa Maurice, assistant director for the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University, and Nicholas Huba, digital editor for The Press of Atlantic City, attempted to move things along.
The Second Congressional District, geographically the largest in the state, covers Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties, in addition to a portion of Gloucester, Ocean and Burlington counties.
Long a stronghold for Republicans (the latest figures for the district show 207,654 unaffiliated voters, 201,759 Republicans and 178,060 Democrats), it is among the poorest in the state.
Van Drew was the only Democrat to hold the seat since Bill Hughes retired in 1994. Frank LoBiondo held the seat from 1995 to 2018. Van Drew served one year as a Democrat before changing parties and pledging his loyalty to Trump.
Held in the Campus Center Theatre, there was no live audience as one of the incumbent’s stipulations for participation. Van Drew said he does not hold public meetings in fear for his safety.
The panelists asked questions on a wide range of topics, including housing, the economy, energy policy, health care, the war in Iran, immigration, Social Security, shore protection, voting rights and AI.
Mullock went on the offensive from the gun, saying Van Drew “has sold out South Jersey to data centers, to the war in Iran, to doubling our health insurance prices, all for a pathetic, undying support to Donald Trump. He has pledged his undying support not to the Constitution or the people of South Jersey, but to one man.”
Van Drew said his connections with “Big Shots in Washington” allow him to help residents of southern New Jersey, “whether they have a problem with their VA benefits, whether they have a problem with their Social Security, whether they can’t deal with the electric company or their health insurance, we’ve been there, we fight for them.”
He said he has brought record amounts of aid to the district — “more than has ever been brought into the district in the history of the state of New Jersey” — for dredging, beach replenishment and other projects.
Affordability
Mullock said the Republican-led cuts to Medicaid, tariffs and war in Iran have all led to a poor economy, which hurts those in the state’s poorest counties the worst.
“The first thing we have to do is reverse the policies of Mr. Van Drew and Donald Trump,” he said.
Mullock said tariffs are leading to higher costs for consumers while the war is causing a spike in gasoline prices.
“All three of those things we knew were going to be an issue and yet he voted for it,” Mullock said.
Van Drew said he never voted to cut Medicare or Social Security.
“Never voted to cut Medicare. Never voted to cut Social Security like he says that we did. … We’ve never done any of that. We want to make it more affordable,” he said.
Van Drew claimed Mullock’s plan would increase taxes on those who make tips, people who work overtime and those living on Social Security.
“You think it’s bad now, and it isn’t good. I get what people are talking about. Wow, would it be bad if he gets his way,” he said.
Social security,
Medicare, Medicaid
“Social Security is so important to so many people. It hasn’t missed a payment since 1937 and yet he’s done nothing to protect it,” Mullock said of his opponent. “The trustees report says that it’s going to be exhausted by 2032. Please don’t leave him in charge of Social Security.
“I will work my butt off to make sure that Social Security is protected and the first thing that we would do is to make sure that the interest rate that we receive is appropriate.”
Van Drew said he never voted to cut Medicare and would “never vote to cut Social Security.”
He said “nothing is going to change” for seniors, young couples with children or the disabled under the Medicaid cuts he supported. Those who would see a change would include “a single, healthy young man.” That person would have to work 20 hours a week to receive benefits, attend a job training program or volunteer at an organization.
Electricity rates
Van Drew blamed New Jersey’s escalating electricity rates on past Democratic administrations and the Board of Public Utilities.
“I have asked them to resign. People are tired of it. These aren’t just normal increases that have occurred; they’re life-changing. People are in trouble because of it,” he said.
The congressman said wind turbines are not the answer.
“They’d increase our rates, they’d increase our costs and they’re bad for the environment,” Van Drew said.
Mullock countered that Van Drew fought for 10 years in the state Senate to support Ocean Wind, a would-be wind farm operator, and that the war is driving up energy prices.
“When it comes to energy, the war in Iran has skyrocketed our energy prices. Diesel has gone up 70 percent since the start of the war, gas is skyrocketing and … the Big Beautiful Bill gave oil and gas 25 percent discount on the royalties in the Gulf of Mexico. Everything that he has done has made costs more. Just go to the fuel tank and you can see his policies in action,” he said.
Mullock said he opposes offshore wind farms “because I care very much about our environment and I care very much about our commercial fishermen who I grew up with in Cape May.”
However, he said he supports renewable energy.
“We need to go full steam ahead with solar panels,” adding that wind energy would work “where it doesn’t hurt our environment and it doesn’t hurt our commercial fishing industry.”
War in Iran
Van Drew has repeatedly voted against measures to limit Trump’s military action in Iran.
He said he voted only not to end hostilities immediately “because it would have endangered our troops.”
“I voted not to abandon our troops there, to abandon the Mideast, cause turmoil and cause problems. Now as we go into this next session, we have to have an endgame,” Van Drew said. “It is time to end this, and I believe that we will. And we have to make sure we do it in such a way that we don’t unhinge the Mideast and that we don’t hurt our troops, that we leave in an orderly way that doesn’t cause harm to the region and doesn’t create a really serious situation.”
Mullock said he does not feel that the war is justified.
“I think this is a war of stupidity. I think we had a president and a person who looks up to the president like a child, who voted for this war, went to war without a clear agenda, without a clear exit strategy, and now look where we’re at,” he said.
Gas and diesel costs
Van Drew said the energy policies of the Joe Biden administration and Democrats in general has been terrible.
“Because of it, pipelines were closed, refineries weren’t built. The issue with gas and with diesel and with oil in general is the ability to refine it. In this country, we haven’t built the refineries that we need. We should no longer be depending on the Mideast and other countries,” he said. “The bottom line is that we can do better, but we need a basket of energy all the above.”
“He just spoke a lot about other people’s policies,” Mullock countered. “You can see his policies in action right now. Go to the gas tank. Go to the grocery store. The diesel prices are hurting our farmers. The phosphorus, the fertilizer, all skyrocketing. Your food is going up because of that, and our farmers here in Cumberland County and Salem County are all struggling because of his policies, what he’s voted for.”
Immigration
“Let’s really make something clear. There’s legal immigration and illegal immigration. I love legal immigration,” Van Drew said. “We need to make it run more smoothly, to run faster. It isn’t good enough the way that it is now. It’s been a problem for years, and it’s only gotten worse,” he said.
He called illegal immigration “horrible,” characterizing the people who take part in it as violent criminals.
“I wish all of you that are watching on television right now could be in my hearings in the Judiciary Committee when you have Angel Moms come forward whose children were beaten, were raped, were murdered, were hurt, and became disabled because of what happened to them. It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
Mullock said he believes in a strong border and being selective about who is allowed into the country but that the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are unacceptable.
“Just like a lot of people out there, I believed in getting rid of the worst of the worst. I believed in that. I think that’s correct. But what’s happening right now with masked agents in our streets, with no accountability, with no recording devices, is insanity and it’s wrong. It’s inhumane,” he said.
Van Drew blamed the agents’ presence in the streets on New Jersey being a sanctuary state.
“The administration [Mullock] supports will not work with the federal agents at all. So they actually have to go into the street. Sanctuary state, you’re paying for their food, for their clothing, for their housing, for their transportation,” he said.
Mullock said the country’s reliance on immigrants must be acknowledged.
“My opponent won’t talk about that, but if you go into the Cumberland farm fields right now, it’s all immigrants. When you go into Salem, it’s all immigrants. In our restaurants, it depends on that work, and these people, many of them who have been here for many years, do need a pathway to citizenship, who are the good people who have not broken the law. They need a pathway to citizenship, and we need to take care of that,” he said.
Climate change
Mullock said Van Drew’s vote for the Big Beautiful Bill Act “took the funding out of the budget” for beach replenishment.
“It made it a political football, which is something that’s going to have to get kicked around every two years during an election cycle,” he said.
He said former U.S. Reps. Frank Lobiondo and Bill Hughes “made sure that we had beach replenishment. Look at what happened this year. You had places in the middle of the season, in August, getting beach replenishment. We need a comprehensive plan, a 10-year plan that has a lot of utilities and jetties and infrastructure. This needs to be well planned out.”
Van Drew touted bringing $99 million to the area for beach replenishment and his work to create a permanent funding mechanism.
“We know that it’s always been a problem. That’s why my legislation to have a permanent fund that is replenished every year that comes from the Gulf and from all the oil and gas manufacturers is a good plan,” he said.
Town hall meetings
Mullock said he wished the public could have been present at the debate but noted that Van Drew “insisted that you not be, just like he insists to not have any town hall meetings.”
He said as mayor of Cape May, he loves hearing from the public.
“That is a huge part of democracy. Mr. Van Drew talks a lot about the accomplishments as if everything is perfect. You know why he doesn’t have town hall meetings? Because everything isn’t perfect. Go to the grocery store. Go to the gas pump. Open your electric bills. It’s not perfect. He just doesn’t want to hear from you,” Mullock said.
Van Drew said “it’s shameful what they’ve done to town hall meetings. You’ve seen them on TV where they’re literally throwing things at the particular member of Congress and it’s the folks that he aligns with, they’re swearing at them, they’re cursing at them, there were fistfights in the parking lots. That’s not good. It’s not good for the people that are there. Somebody’s going to get hurt. It’s not good for America,” Van Drew responded. “If we can get to the point that they’re safe and nobody gets hurt, I’m absolutely supportive of it.”
The candidates also discussed artificial intelligence, voter registration requirements, the budget deficit, tariffs and Russian diesel. The full debate is available on YouTube and the Hughes Center’s website.
In his closing statement, Van Drew cited Winston Churchill as “a great hero of mine.”
“He said something that was very simple. ‘Never, never, never give up,’” the incumbent said. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m never, never going to give up on you. I’m never, never, never going to give up on America. Democrat socialists, which my opponent represents, would change the structure and substance of America forever. And that’s wrong. And that’s something that we don’t want to see ever in this country.”
Mullock closed by saying the “American Dream is something that we all need to be able to obtain, and for so many people under the current policies that American Dream is getting tougher and tougher to realize. Working families are feeling it, they know that they’re struggling just to do the basics. I want to work with everyone to make sure that we can provide the American Dream to all.
“I leave you with a simple question. Are you better off than you were two years ago? And if you are, God bless you. I wish you the best. But if you’re not, I’m asking for your vote.”
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff