Jay Webber’s law office doesn’t look like much. The faded directory by the door of the drab red and gray building near Route 10 simply lists “Webber McGill LLC.”
Past a tiny, empty lobby and through a hallway I find Webber, who at 6′3″ towers over most people he meets. The Republican candidate for the U.S. House in New Jersey’s 11th District is smartly dressed in a white button-down shirt and green tie. His small yet tidy office is untouched by campaign paraphernalia, but his no-frills style doesn’t distract from the fact that this lawyer-turned-politician has been charging through the most competitive race the district has seen in 32 years.
Webber, 46, was a member of the New Jersey general assembly for 10 years but jumped into the congressional race only last February, days after Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen announced his retirement. Frelinghuysen had held the seat since 1996, succeeding another Republican, Dean Gallo, who represented the district for nearly a decade. But what was once a reliably red district is now rated “lean Democratic” by the Cook Political Report. Trump won the district by less than 1 percent in 2016. The shifting political grounds have made this race a key target for Democrats aiming to take back the House in November, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has highlighted the race in its “Red to Blue” fundraising campaign.
Despite this, Webber exudes optimism. “It’s a right-of-center district,” he tells me, asserting that most people here prefer lower taxes and stronger immigration laws. “My opponent’s got a lot of money, sure. But it’s a Republican district, and we’re going to be a tough out. This is a race that I feel good about winning.”
He’s right that a victory will be hard-won, but he does have reason to hope. Among registered voters in the district, Republicans outnumber Democrats. Webber won the primary by nearly 10 points despite being significantly outspent, and he has managed to keep the race close even though his opponent, former federal prosecutor and Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill, has outspent him four to one.
Webber has also secured crucial endorsements. President Trump gave his enthusiastic support via Twitter in late September, and Vice President Mike Pence followed suit twice. House Speaker Paul Ryan has campaigned for Webber in the final weeks before Election Day.
Webber’s confidence is also fueled by his conviction that Sherrill is out of touch with constituents’ interests and needs. “I’m talking about issues that families are concerned about at their kitchen table every night,” he says. “I talk about taxes, affordability, jobs, opportunity.” He contrasts his platform with the “divisive social issues” Sherrill endorses, such as support of sanctuary cities. “She’s a culture warrior,” Webber continues. “Families and voters in the 11th Congressional District see that . . . and they’ll prefer my approach to Mikie’s every time.”
To reinforce his image as the candidate who understands New Jersey families, Webber often incorporates his family history into his campaign. A native of Clifton, he emphasizes his “middle-class upbringing” by hardworking parents who encouraged him to “pay it forward.” Now a father of seven (whose wife Johanna frequently appears with him in his television ads), he describes himself as a “husband and father” first, as well as a “tax-cutter and leader.”
A family-oriented mindset has been a consistent part of Webber’s message since he entered the political arena 15 years ago. As an assemblyman, he won the Defender of the Family Legislative Award from the New Jersey Family Policy Council. In conversation he has the easygoing personality of a dad who loves coaching baseball (which he does) more than the well-rehearsed demeanor of a candidate repeating his talking points.
If the tiny gray office doesn’t scream political hub, the fundraiser he attends that evening makes up for it. At a nearby hotel featuring a large “Webber for Congress” banner, hundreds of well-dressed, mostly middle-aged and elderly supporters gather in a room splashed with red lighting. The crowd seems hopeful that Webber has both the political skill and the personality to take his leadership talents to the national level.
One attendee, Phyllis Randall, a short, rosy-cheeked woman in her 50s, nods toward the stage with an excited smile. “Wait till you hear him speak!” she says. “He speaks so well, much better than Mikie Sherrill.” I ask her what she dislikes about Sherrill. With a slight cringe, Randall replies, “She sounds like a high school girl—so shrill!”
Webber soon greets the cheering crowd with an enthusiastic “All right!” before diving into a lively speech. “Do you like an economy that’s roaring? Do you like low unemployment?” he asks. To each question, the audience responds with a resounding “Yes!” The energy level of the candidate and the crowd resembles a political rally rather than that of a sit-down dinner.
Still, Webber’s optimism doesn’t restrain him from making some sharp critiques of his opponent. “Montclair Mikie is here to fool everybody,” he tells the crowd (Montclair is Sherrill’s current hometown), pointing to her relationship with House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Although Sherrill has said publicly she will not support Pelosi for speaker if the Democrats take the House, the Webber campaign released a recording of Sherrill calling Pelosi “the most effective speaker of the House that we’ve seen in decades” during a closed-door meeting in September.
“If Nancy Pelosi needs her vote on January 3, Nancy Pelosi will get her vote,” says Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the guest speaker at tonight’s event. Cotton, whose friendship with Webber dates back 21 years, to an intramural basketball team at Harvard, pairs a confident spirit with a sobering nod to the high stakes of this congressional race. He calls Sherrill one of Pelosi’s “hand-picked, darling candidates” and lists the dangers if the 11th seat flips. “She’ll vote to raise your taxes, to give amnesty to illegal immigrants, to let criminals out of jail, to weaken our defenses, to weaken protections for the unborn,” Cotton says.
Cotton is correct to raise the issue of abortion. Among supporters at the event are many who back Webber primarily because of his pro-life stance. One attendee tells me that although he and many of his friends can’t vote for Webber because they live outside his district, they turned out tonight because abortion is a crucial issue for them and they felt compelled to lend Webber’s campaign financial and personal support.
But the MAGA hats that dot the room also suggest that Webber has attracted some hardcore Trump supporters as well. When I bring up his association with Trump during our interview, Webber keeps his distance but doesn’t directly criticize the president. “It’s no secret that I don’t agree with everything the president says . . . but I agree with a lot of what he does,” he tells me. “I think I’ve shown I can be an ally with someone who is heading in the same direction I am . . . but then I’m not afraid to stand on principle and work against or oppose certain priorities that allies might put forward that I think might be detrimental to our state.” Noting his years working with former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, he adds with a wry smile, “I have some practice with this.”
Still, Webber and his team are aware he is in a close race. “I’m pleading with you . . . pull out all the stops,” Cotton tells the crowd. “The word of a trusted friend is the best advertisement that money cannot buy.”
Given that Mikie Sherrill’s friends have much deeper pockets, trusted personal connections might be Webber’s best hope in November.
