TOMS RIVER, NJ—Chris Smith has served in Congress since 1981 and has a political career that has now spanned six decades. He’s been in office longer than most of his constituents. He’s done a fine job in Congress, but as President Trump is promising term limits, could 2024 be Smith’s last ride at the rodeo?
Smith has always done well in elections in New Jersey, but a few years ago, he almost lost a primary to America First candidate Mike Crispi.
In 2024, Smith again won in the primarily Republican 4th New Jersey Congressional District, defeating his perennial ‘soft-target’ opponent 67% to 31%. However, the Democrat party is not Smith’s biggest threat. It’s the Republican party, which has been invigorated at the local level with young blood from township mayors to county commissioners.
At the state and assembly level, the next era of Republicans has taken a foothold, including former Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra, staging a major party upset to become an assemblyman. Berkeley Township Mayor Carmen Amato moving into the state senate spot down south and cleansing of the old-guard Ocean County Board of Commissioners, where the median age was like 100 before last year.
Now, Chris Smith stands as the aging dinosaur of the shore area GOP establishment. He’s been a congressman for 43 years and when he first ran for office, television was dominated by Mork and Mindy, Dallas, Taxi, and Diff’rnt Strokes.
Rumors swirling in Ocean County are predicting a primary battle in 2026 that Smith has never seen before, with multiple candidates being rumored days after the 2024 Trump election victory.
Mike Crispi, who challenged Smith last time around, came a little too close for comfort in his race against Smith in 2022.
Today, Crispi questioned Smith’s notable quietness and absenteeism during Trump’s 2024 campaign.
“Chris Smith, like most establishment figures, was nowhere to be seen over the last year as President Trump mounted his historic comeback. As The America First Republicans held 32 events across the state, enlisted thousands of volunteers and contacted over a million voters, most members of the political establishment stood idly by not sure what side to take in what they perceived as a “blue” state,” Crispi said. “We knew from day 1 that President Trump could win New Jersey and know the Maga movement has just begun here. This also means electing representatives who embody the Trump agenda and will fight with the necessary sense of urgency to implement this agenda to save our country.”
Crispi said he’s hearing the same rumors swirling around Ocean County we are.
“I am told by various well placed sources this will be Congressman Smith’s last term in the house and I wish him all the best in retirement. He was a necessary champion for the right to life movement and now that Roe vs. Wade is overturned, after 48 years he can ride off into the sunset with dignity. I believe a phenomenal candidate will arise very soon, equipped to tackle the most pressing issues we face now into the future, a name many might find familiar,” he said.
