Rep. American. Josh Gottheimera five-term congressman from Bergen County, officially announced Friday that he is running to become New Jersey’s next governor, promising to be a tax-cutting Democrat as he joins an already crowded field in what will likely be a fierce race.

The long-awaited move makes Gottheimer the fifth Democrat to run in next year’s election to succeed the Democratic governor. Phil Murphywho is term-limited and will enter his final year in office next year.

Gottheimer, a 49-year-old former speechwriter for Bill Clinton, made the announcement before hundreds of supporters, state lawmakers and local officials at a very full Runway Diner in South Hackensack, 10 days after being re-elected to his representative seat North Jersey’s 5th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

“I’m a Jersey person through and through,” said Gottheimer, a moderate Democrat. “I love Jersey. It’s in my bones. But the problem is that living in Jersey has become too expensive. We pay too much tax and too much to live on. It’s time to reboot. »

His speech focused largely on vows to “make New Jersey more affordable again,” including cutting New Jersey’s famous income and property taxes.

“Let me say that again, because I don’t think you’ve heard that from a Democrat in a long time,” Gottheimer said. “It’s too much and needs to go down.”

The event, held in a working-class neighborhood in Gottheimer’s district, comes 10 days after a presidential election that exit polls showed hinged on the economy, according to the Democratic vice president. Kamala Harris lost to former Republican president Donald Trump. Harris wore New Jersey blue by only 5 percentage pointswhile Gottheimer won his district by 11 points.

“If last week’s election taught Democrats anything, it’s that people think politicians don’t listen to them,” Gottheimer said. “It’s the economy, the stupid, hard-working middle-class families like you that deserve relief.”

Gottheimer gave no specifics on how he would finance the tax cuts, but promised he would do so “while protecting the values ​​we believe in as Democrats.”

“Our diversity remains our greatest strength and we believe in helping people when they need it and fighting Donald Trump when we need to,” he said.

A Tenafly resident, Gottheimer has served in Congress since 2017, after flipping a seat Republicans had held for decades. He is a prolific fundraiser who also co-chairs the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers that seeks to broker deals on major legislation in Congress.

On Friday, Gottheimer said he helped pass laws on gun control, climate change and transportation. He also promised to revamp the tax code to make it easier for people to move to New Jersey; reduce energy bills by having more solar and wind power; doubling down on property tax relief programs such as Stay NJ, which aims to reduce taxes for seniors; continue his long fight against New York’s congestion pricing plan; and strengthen law enforcement.

Gottheimer joins a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including Newark mayor Ras Barakamayor of Jersey City Steve Fuloppresident of the New Jersey Educational Association Sean Spillerand former President of the State Senate Stephen Sweeney.

Another Democratic member of the House of Representatives from North Jersey, Rep. Mike Sherrillis expected to join the race on Monday.

On the Republican side, there are five declared contenders: State Sen. Jon Bramnickreal estate broker Robert Canfieldformer state deputy Jack Ciattarelliand former state senator. Ed Durrand radio presenter Bill Spadea

The primary takes place in June.

The competition promises to be heated for an open seat, with the winner assuming one of the most powerful governorships in America, approving not only new laws and the state budget but also a wide range of appointments, including the ability to choose a state attorney general. and appoint judges. New Jersey is a blue state, but voters often move back and forth between parties when selecting a governor.

As other candidates surged in recent months, Gottheimer and Sherrill were widely expected to join them. They waited right after being re-elected to their House seats last week.

On the restaurant’s tables Friday were fake menus with Gottheimer’s photo and food items — the “Gottheimer’s Got-Your-Back” bagel, the property tax toast. Fans wore baseball caps that read: “Josh 4 Jersey.”

“Everything good in Jersey starts in a restaurant,” Gottheimer said at the start of his speech. “And after last week, we need some good news.”

Gottheimer served as a White House speechwriter during President Bill Clinton’s second term and also worked as an advisor to the presidential campaigns of Democrats Wesley Clark, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton.

He was elected to Congress in 2016, when he Republican Representative Scott Garrett, ousted for seven terms in the 5th District, ending 84 years of GOP rule. His district includes suburban Bergen County and parts of Passaic and Sussex counties.

Gottheimer, who is Jewish, is also an outspoken ally of Israel and has been a vocal critic of anti-Semitism. If elected, he would be New Jersey’s first Jewish governor – just like Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City. Gottheimer vowed Friday to fight anti-Semitism with “the full force” of the law.

As well-funded and politically active members of Congress with the support of top party leaders, Gottheimer and Sherrill are both seen as leading contenders for governor and bring a new dimension to the race.

Insiders expect Sherrill to gain party support in big counties like Essex, Middlesex and Passaic, while Gottheimer is expected to land in Bergen. There are two other things that could help Gottheimer, said Matt Hale, a political science professor at Seton Hall University and a Democratic council member from Highland Park.

“No. 1, he has a lot of money, and no, 2, he’s a centrist,” Hale said. “Those are good things in New Jersey. He’s the type of Democrat that New Jersey has moved toward tendency to gravitate.

Tina Zappile, director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University, said Gottheimer’s strong voting history also helps consider how close Murphy’s 2021 re-election victory is was. She notes that he won his seat in 2016, the year Trump first became president, and has won since.

“So far, Gottheimer’s track record has been strong,” Zappile said.

No candidate, however, enjoys great notoriety, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this week. For Gottheimer, 56% of registered voters don’t know who he is, while 15% have a favorable opinion of him, 8% have an unfavorable opinion and 21% have no opinion.

Another important factor: The primary likely won’t feature the state’s “county line” voting system, in which candidates backed by powerful county party leaders have long enjoyed prime placement and have helped party leaders influence elections. A judge hit him for last year’s Democratic primaries, and it seems about to disappear completely. This makes the race even more open.

“Just because the lines aren’t there doesn’t mean the party apparatus isn’t relevant. Getting those endorsements is less important, but they’re still important,” Hale said.

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Brent Johnson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on @johnsb01.