Bill Hughes, Jr.

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Bill Hughes, Jr.

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 4, 2014

Contact

Personal website

Bill Hughes, Jr. was a 2014 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey. Hughes won the Democratic nomination in the primary on June 3, 2014. He was defeated by incumbent Frank LoBiondo (R) in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Biography

Bill Hughes, Jr. is the son of former Representative Bill Hughes, who was a member of the U.S. House from New Jersey's 2nd District prior to Frank LoBiondo, from 1974 to 1995. Hughes worked for over seven years with the U.S. Department of Justice, and now practices law with Atlantic City’s Cooper Levenson firm.

Issues

Affordable Care Act

Hughes criticized attempts to reform the Affordable Care Act. The Wall Street Journal quoted Hughes as saying, "I'm not afraid of the Affordable Care Act."

Website domains

In February 2014, Democrats in Hughes' district filed an eleven-page complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. The complaint accused Republicans of buying up various website domains including Bill Hughes, Jr.'s name and using them to post negative ads about Hughes. While the Democrats accused the ads of being unlawful and misleading, defenders such as Ian Prior, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), stated that they were bought legally and were not fraudulent. Prior argued that it was obvious that they were not put up by Bill Hughes, Jr. or his campaign.

Elections

2014

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Frank LoBiondo (R) defeated Bill Hughes, Jr. (D), Gary Stein (I), Bayode Olabisi (I), Costantino Rozzo (American Labor Party) and Alexander Spano (Democratic-Republican). LoBiondo defeated Mike Assad in the Republican primary on June 3, 2014, while Hughes defeated Dave Cole for the Democratic nomination.

New Jersey's 2nd was considered a battleground district in 2014. Although LoBiondo won re-election in 2012 by a safe 17.4 percent margin of victory, the 2012 presidential race went Democratic, with Barack Obama winning the district by an 8.1 percent margin of victory.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	61.5%	108,875
	Democratic	Bill Hughes, Jr.	37.3%	66,026
	Independent	Gary Stein	0.3%	612
	Independent	Bayode Olabisi	0.3%	471
	American Labor Party	Costantino Rozzo	0.3%	501
	Democratic-Republican	Alexander Spano	0.4%	663
Total Votes				177,148
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Bill Hughes, Jr.	81.8%	11,455
Dave Cole	18.2%	2,554
Total Votes		14,009
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections - Official Election Results

Race background

New York Rep. Steve Israel launched a fundraiser for Hughes in February 2014 at the Atlantic City Country Club. Stuart Rothenberg of Roll Call said that he considered the seat safe for Republicans.

Endorsements

Hughes received endorsements from the following groups:

• Atlantic County Democrats
• Ocean County Democrats
• Camden County Democrats
• Burlington County Democrats
• Cape May County Democrats
• Cumberland County Democrats
• Salem County Democrats
• Gloucester County Democrats
• New Jersey State Senator Stephen Sweeney
• The United Auto Workers (UAW) - rescinded**

**The UAW retracted their endorsement of Hughes on June 25, 2014. In a letter that Hughes wrote to the regional UAW director, Hughes explained his belief that the AFL-CIO had pressured the UAW into rescinding the endorsement.

Campaign themes

2014

Hughes highlighted the following themes on his campaign website. See his "Issues" page for more information regarding his position on various topics.

“	Create and Protect Jobs and Light a Fire Under the Economy: "South Jersey has the highest jobless rate in the state, averaging around 13%. So many good folks have been in unemployed [sic] for so long that many aren't even counted as being unemployed - and have just given up hope of finding work. When the Atlantic Club closed its doors for good in January 2014 – putting 1,600 of our neighbors out of work – they were told to move to another state to find work. Rampant unemployment in our hometowns for years on end with no solutions is unacceptable. In South Jersey the recession hasn’t ended. It's not our neighbors who have failed, it’s our leadership in Washington. We need real projects and real ideas that produce solutions and jobs. South Jersey needs an advocate for jobs and a stronger economy – someone who will actually reach across the aisle and achieve bipartisan results instead of just talking about them." Strengthen Education and Make College Affordable for Every Student: "The exploding cost of college tuition is killing the financial security of middle class families and denying educational opportunities to hard-working students. Tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities shot up 19% over inflation from 2003-04 to 2008-09, and by another 27% between 2008-09 and 2013-14. My wife, a member of our local School Board, and I are parents of three young boys, and we are committed to ensuring the quality of our public schools and making a college education more attainable. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed through a world-class education, the best college or technical or trade education New Jersey has to offer." Protect Social Security and Medicare: "We need to ensure that the Social Security and Medicare programs remain protected and funded for the thousands of South Jersey residents who depend upon these benefits both now and in the future. As we speak, reckless Republicans in Congress are proposing to radically cut the Medicare program by slashing Medicare benefits to future recipients and increasing the eligibility age. Republicans are also working to rip open the Medicare Part-D “Donut Hole” which would dramatically increase what seniors pay for prescription drugs, and reducing the federal investment in nursing homes. I will keep the promise made to our seniors who sacrificed and saved their entire lives believing the benefits they paid for would be there when they retired." Keeping the Promise to Our Veterans: "South Jersey is lacking a facility close to home where our 50,000 veterans can have their medical needs addressed. The deeper you are in South Jersey, the harder it is for veterans to find the health care our country promised them close to home. It simply makes no sense that a veteran in Cape May, Atlantic County or Ocean County would have to drive up to two hours and pass two or more other hospitals just to visit a VA Hospital in Philadelphia or Delaware. With South Jersey already having some of the highest unemployment rates in the country, the unemployment rate of returning veterans is often three or more times higher than the general population. We need to honor our veterans by making sure they have a good paying job waiting for them at home" Real Healthcare Reform: "We have the best doctors and hospitals in the world, and nobody in this country should face obstacles to getting the treatment and care they need. Instead of returning to a system that denied healthcare to millions while bankrupting hospitals, individuals and businesses - and was a drain on taxpayers - we need REAL healthcare reform that is both affordable and makes sense for individuals and businesses."	”
—Bill Hughes, Jr., Campaign website (archive)

Campaign finance summary

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Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hughes and his wife, Stephanie, live in Northfield, New Jersey, with their three sons.

Recent news

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Bill Hughes, Jr. News Feed

See also

• United States House of Representatives
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District

Suggest a link

External links

• Campaign website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Footnotes

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New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)