Democrats add Zack Mullock’s challenge of Jeff Van Drew in South Jersey to their ‘districts in play’ list

National Democrats added U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew’s South Jersey district on Friday to a list of their target races to flip, signaling they’re taking Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock’s candidacy more seriously than before.

Mullock decisively won a crowded primary in June to face Van Drew, a Cape May County Republican.

Van Drew has comfortably warded off challengers in recent years. He was first elected as a Democrat in 2018, but then declared his loyalty to President Donald Trump and switched parties a year later.

The designation was a long time coming for Mullock, as mail ballots have already begun to come in 32 days before the Nov. 3 election.

Still, it came as a surprise to him. He learned on Friday he made the cut at the same time everyone else did, through social media, he said.

“We may be purplish-red, but you know, we are not a just ‘go with whatever the president says’ kind of district,” Mullock said in a phone call. “We voted for Obama twice. We voted for Jeff Van Drew as a Democrat.”

Local Democrats have been optimistic that Mullock is their best shot yet at ousting Van Drew, but the race had flown under the national radar. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the party’s main campaign arm in House races, had excluded the district from its “2026 Districts in Play” map until Friday morning.

The announcement likely indicates that the national committee will send resources to Mullock’s campaign, such as staff support, but it does not come with the funding that the most competitive “Red to Blue” seats get.

Still, it serves as a nudge to donors to take the race seriously.

Van Drew’s district was one of eight districts across the country added to the battleground list, showing that Democrats see a blue wave as increasingly likely as Trump’s popularity suffers amid the Iran war and inflation.

National Democrats are now targeting a total of 66 House races, which they say is nearly double as many as in 2024 when Republicans maintained control of the chamber.

Van Drew’s campaign spokesperson Ron Filan, in a statement, said Democrats make the race seem competitive every cycle as a “fundraising ploy,” and that Van Drew “proves them wrong” each time.

“We predicted back in June they would follow this same playbook and appreciate them proving us right,” Filan said. “The DCCC has about a third of House Republicans on one of their silly wish lists or another.”

Van Drew has been thrusting out attack ads as Mullock campaigns across the district, showing that he sees the local mayor as a threat. Filan noted that Van Drew “doesn’t take anything for granted and will continue to campaign as hard as he always has.”

Previously, the only seat in the Garden State on the DCCC’s battleground list was U.S. Rep. Tom Kean’s 7th District in Central Jersey, which is still the only one on the “Red to Blue” list. Kean, who was absent from Congress for months without explanation until he revealed it was for depression, is viewed as highly vulnerable as Democrat Rebecca Bennett tries to oust him.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the 7th District as leaning toward Democrats, but Van Drew’s “solidly Republican” seat will be a more difficult challenge to flip.

The Cape May lawmaker’s closest challenge was in 2020 from Amy Kennedy, who still fell nearly 6 points behind him. He was reelected in 2022 by 19 points and in 2024 by 17 points.

National Republicans cite a double-digit win for Trump in the district in 2024, but Democrats note Gov. Mikie Sherrill came within single digits of her Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli in the district last year as she reversed red shifts in the state while consistently attacking Trump.

Mullock said he thinks constituents are becoming disillusioned about Van Drew’s support of Trump.

“I think people are realizing what I realized ... I thought Jeff was a moderate Democrat that became a moderate Republican, and that is just not what he has become,” the Democrat said.

The 2nd Congressional District spans several South Jersey counties, extending from the Jersey Shore to rural farmland and the Philadelphia suburbs.

DCCC chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement that voters will send Van Drew “packing” because he “prioritizes tax breaks for the wealthiest few while gutting healthcare and raising costs for his constituents.”

The National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), meanwhile, is focused on defending Kean’s district, the only Jersey seat on its “Patriots” list.

NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole said in a statement that “Democrats are living in a fantasy.”

“New Jersey families know Jeff Van Drew delivers results, they trust him, and they’ll proudly reelect him in November,” she said.