Republican Chris Smith Wins Re-Election Against Democrat Welle

RUMSON, NJ — Longtime Republican Congressman Rep. Chris Smith was able to keep his seat and fend off a challenge from Democrat Josh Welle for the fourth district congressional seat.

Welle, a U.S. Navy veteran, hoped to topple Monmouth and Ocean counties' longtime Republican congressman from a seat Smith has held incredibly for the past 30 years. Pollsters were predicting New Jersey's fourth district would stay in Smith's control. The Washington Post and Politico called the race for Smith by 9:20 p.m. Tuesday: With 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Smith received 56 percent of the vote (97,330 votes) compared to 42 percent for Welle (74,066 votes).

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional district is reliably Republican: The district voted for Trump, Romney, McCain and Bush. But Democrats hope that the 2018 midterms, riding a blue wave of anti-Trump sentiment, could be their chance to flip NJ4 to blue.

Smith has won all his Congressional campaigns since 2000 with at least 63 percent of the vote.

It's been a nasty, bitter race between two men who clearly despise each other. In a taped debate with News 12, Welle called Smith's views "perverse," and even the Asbury Park Press remarked "We have seen no evidence during the campaign that Welle would contribute to an improved political climate ... Welle's style is the last thing Washington needs."

The Asbury Park Press ended up endorsing Smith, its editorial writers saying that while they disagreed with Smith's social conservatism, they find him to be a bi-partisan legislator who is not afraid to reach across the aisle.

One of Welle's most resounding arguments is that Smith has simply been in office for too long, since 1981, and that he's out of touch with today's voters. Smith also hasn't held a town hall with voters in decades; he says it's because such events are often filled with liberal protesters who are rude to him and his staff.

RELATED: 2018 Election Results: Vote A Referendum On 'Trump's GOP': https://patch.com/us/across-america/2018-election-results-vote-referendum-trump-gop

Welle and Smith disagree on several hot-button issues: Smith, a Catholic, has been called one of the most ardent pro-life members of Congress. Welle, meanwhile, vowed he would defend a woman's right to choose. Throughout the campaign, Welle continually blasted Smith for not standing up enough to Trump; Smith countered by saying he voted against Trump's tax overhaul, which disproportionally hurt New Jersey homeowners. Both men criticized Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration crackdown earlier this year, which including separating children from their parents. Welle actually went to the U.S.-Mexico border and met with families who had been separated by Trump.

In September, Smith was almost sunk by an LGBTQ scandal: An edited audio clip surfaced on a gay and lesbian news site, The Blade, that appeared to show Smith saying to students at Colts Neck High School that he thinks children would be better off in orphanages than being adopted by gay and lesbian parents. The headline spread like wildfire through both local and national media, and was widely circulated by Welle's campaign. However, while Smith said he thinks marriage is between a man and a woman — and he clearly seemed uncomfortable with the idea of adoption by same-sex parents — his remarks were later shown to be taken out of context.

And Welle couldn't seem to dodge a nagging tax issue that haunted him throughout the tail end of his campaign: On the campaign trail, he often touted his business savvy, as he and several other Navy veterans started a software firm that contracted with the Dept. of Defense. However, that company folded after two years and a right-wing blogger was the first to report that the firm still owed $130,000 in unpaid back taxes to the state of Delaware, where the company was incorporated. Ultimately, Welle paid the taxes he owed (the real amount was much smaller, about $1,300), but Welle did not address the issue until it was raised by the media.

New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District includes nearly all of Monmouth County, from part of Middletown and Holmdel on south, into Colts Neck, Freehold, Jackson, Plumstead and Point Pleasant in Ocean County and a small sliver of Mercer County (Hamilton and Robbinsville). See if you live in New Jersey's Fourth Congressional District here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

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