Political Campaigns
Garrett ran for Congress unsuccessfully against incumbent Congresswoman Marge Roukema in the 1998 and 2000 Republican primaries, falling short both times with 48% of the vote. He received support from several groups who had long felt chagrin at Roukema's moderate voting record; Garrett had by this time established himself as one of the most conservative members of the General Assembly.
In 2002, Roukema opted not to run for a 12th term. Garrett won a contested five-way primary with 45% of the vote over State Assemblyman David C. Russo (26%) and State Senator Gerald Cardinale (25%), who had received Roukema's endorsement.
In the 2002 general election, Garrett faced Democrat Anne Sumers, an ophthalmologist and former Republican. Roukema did not endorse Garrett in the general election. This was very unusual for an incumbent of the same party, even though Garrett and Roukema had faced each other in bruising primaries in past years. However, she did not endorse Sumers either, even though part of Sumers' strategy was to portray herself as a "Roukema Republican" and win support in Roukema's old Bergen County base (Bergen County is the biggest county in the 5th district). Sumers' chances decreased significantly after she made several ill-advised comments about the U.S.-Taliban conflict on an Internet message board. The race essentially ended at that point, and Garrett won in a rout, 60% to 38%--even winning Roukema's former base in Bergen County.
Garrett was reelected in 2004 with 58% of the vote. He declined to debate his opponent Anne Wolfe, several times, claiming to have conflicts with his schedule in Washington D.C. Eventually he debated her twice. In 2006, Garrett defeated his Republican primary rival, Michael J. Cino of Bergen County. In the November 2006 election, Garrett defeated Paul Aronsohn (a former employee of the U.S. State Department during the Clinton Administration) and Independent R. Matthew Fretz to win a third term. However, in this election, he only won 55% of the vote—the lowest percentage for a Republican in the district since it assumed its current configuration in 1983. This was particularly remarkable since the current 5th was thought to be more conservative than the area Roukema represented for 22 years.
The 2006 election was close enough to attract the attention of the DCCC, who targeted the 5th District for a pickup in 2008. The Democrats nominated Dennis Shulman, a highly-respected rabbi and psychologist, as their nominee in 2008. Despite the Democrats' increased efforts, Garrett defeated Shulman 56%-42% in the 2008 General Election.
In 2010, Garrett easily defeated Tod Theise, receiving 65% of the vote.
Read more about this topic: Scott Garrett
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