Rep. Jeff Van Drew's (R-NJ) former campaign manager is joining another Democrat's House campaign and took jabs at his old boss for switching parties as a result of the House impeaching President Trump.
Joshua Roesch left Van Drew's campaign after the party switch in December. He will now lead Amy Kennedy's campaign, one of the Democrats who's looking to unseat Van Drew in 2020. Van Drew became a Republican because he viewed the impeachment inquiry and the resulting partisan impeachment vote as a sham.
"As someone who was born and raised in this district, I originally wanted to work for Jeff Van Drew because I thought he’d represent the Democratic ideals I believe in," Roesch said in a statement. "But when Jeff switched parties last month and pledged his undying loyalty to Donald Trump instead of the people of South Jersey he was elected to represent, he betrayed those ideals and everything I thought we were working for."
"I wanted to work for the person who I thought would best represent the district I grew up in. I know Amy Kennedy’s that candidate because she’s dedicated to serving people in our community and doing what’s right," Roesch continued. "Amy Kennedy won’t turn her back on South Jersey families like mine."
"I’m very excited to have Josh on my team as campaign manager," Kennedy said. "His deep roots in South Jersey and his experience in this district and nationally will help us run the campaign we need to communicate our message about getting politics back to the business of doing what’s right and serving our community not ourselves."
While meeting with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss becoming a Republican, Van Drew said this was "a better fit for me. This is who I am. It's who I always was," adding that he believes tolerance for moderate and Blue Dog Democrats is going away within the Democratic Party.