Former Jackson Republican Club President Todd Porter, who called supporters of President Donald Trump ‘bootlickers’ victim of no-confidence vote by his own club.
JACKSON, NJ – After a tumultuous year that saw the Jackson Republican Club sharply divided between two rival factions, the club members on Wednesday night voted overwhelmingly in a no-confidence vote against longtime president Todd Porter.
Porter has overseen a divisive split down the middle of the club that has resulted in a battle between rival Republican factions fighting internally. That fight could lead to two “Republican” tickets in November.
The Porter-aligned faction which is financially backed by Jackson bodega owner Clara Glory wants to push for Marty Flemming, a local hardware store owner for mayor but has been rebuked twice by club rank and file in two floor votes by members to instead endorse incumbent Mayor Michael Reina and his team.
On Tuesday, members of the Porter-Glory aligned faction met at the home of Clara Glory, who often refers to herself as “the Queen of Jackson” on Butterfly Road to discuss campaign strategy and how to handle party backlash by the majority membership of the Republican Club.
Porter, a close ally of Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill was censured two years ago by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel after he posted on Facebook that he wanted to play satanic music in township parks to scare young families out of them. Party insiders told Shore News Network that Glory pushed former GOP Chairman Frank B. Holman to order Mo Hill to give Porter a public job in Toms River.
Toms River Mayor Hill then hired Porter for a public patronage job in the town’s code enforcement department where he works today.
Porter, a ferocious opponent of former President Trump, and a Never-Trumper has come under fire for telling Trump supporters to get the [expletive] out of the Republican Party. After Trump’s loss to Joe Biden, Porter celebrated the former President’s defeat, calling Trump supporters ‘bootlickers’.
In 2016, under Porter, the Jackson GOP was the only municipal Republican club to refuse to endorse Donald J. Trump for President, an arbitrary decision Porter defends to this day. Instead, Porter split the votes for Jackson Republicans between other candidates at the 2016 Ocean County GOP nominating convention.
Related: Porter calls on Trump ‘bootlickers’ to ‘get the [expletive] out of the party’
Jackson Township was one of Trumpiest towns in New Jersey in both the 2016 and 2020 election, but as president of the Jackson GOP, Porter resisted the club’s support of Trump.
On Wednesday, Porter’s vote of no-confidence succeeded in a supermajority vote and the club officially endorsed Mayor Michael Reina and his team for the November 2022 election.
Porter’s team for November, which will now challenge his own Republican Club includes Flemming for Mayor, Councilman Andrew Kern for re-election, and political newcomer, real-estate agent Samara Porter-Oniell for Council.
Members of the Jackson Republican Club on Wednesday officially put Porter on notice that he will not be re-elected as club president in November, a position he has held for many years, despite the controversy that surrounds him. In the action, the Jackson Club appeared to be united between longtime residents and newer Orthodox Jewish community members in their effort to jointly oust Porter from the club.
After being censured by the RNC chairwoman, Porter issued an apology.
“I made a comment mocking those who thought we should keep any group of people out of a public park, a comment that was so absurd it couldn’t be considered anything but absurd and mocking. I presumed it would make a clear point that it was wrong to exclude anyone for any reason. I was wrong, very wrong. I fully understand how easily my words could appear to be hurtful,” he said. “I regret that I chose a way of expression that was so easily misconstrued. I regret that these comments affected members of the Republican Organization, especially our Orthodox members, as it did. To them I can only say that I am sorry.”