For the next three days, we will be giving you a brief look at why we think our midterm candidates are so great. First up is Rep Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), who was first elected to Congress in 2016, replacing Scott Garrett.

In his three terms as northern Sussex County's congressman, Josh has more than made his presence known, both as a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and as a representative who consistently fights and delivers for his district. Consider just a few of his legislative accomplishments:

*As a leader of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Josh helped draft the groundbreaking 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which - among other things - will now allow the all-important Gateway Project to finally go forward. After years of pronouncements and proclamations of "Infrastructure Week" on the other side of the aisle, Josh was instrumental in delivering actual...infrastructure.

*Josh wrote eight critical amendments that strengthened the CHIPS and Science Act, which will bring back advanced manufacturing to the United States — creating jobs and helping us avoid the supply chain bottlenecks that have plagued us since the early days of the pandemic.

*Josh never gave up on building back better. He simply reached out to those who opposed the original legislation, playing a key role in the negotiation and retooling processes that allowed the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act this past summer.

*During the waning months of the Trump Administration, Josh was instrumental in leading the “March to Common Ground,” which delivered more unemployment assistance and state and local aid to people in need.

That's just a fraction of what the "most bipartisan Democratic member of Congress" has accomplished.

His opponent?

Frank Pallotta is a Trump enthusiast who has not renounced the January 6 extremists — and would most certainly undo all of the good work Josh has done as a member of Congress.

For more in-depth analysis of this race, see the Newark Star-Ledger's full-throated endorsement of our congressman: https://www.nj.com/.../in-the-nj-5th-an-obvious-choice-re...

Obviously, for us, it's not a close call. If the goal is to actually get things done in Washington, it shouldn't be for anyone.