New Jersey state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D.) is running for U.S. Congress and is supported by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but his support from the National Rifle Association led to a confrontation with a local teen last week.
Emily McGrath, a 17-year-old New Jersey high student, read from her phone Wednesday as she cited information about Van Drew's campaign donations. The tense exchange with the Congressional candidate was captured on video by Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Amy S. Rosenberg, the Intercept reports.
"Senator, you lied," McGrath said.
McGrath argued Van Drew said he had "never" accepted funds from the NRA when he spoke to her AP government class the day before, but he had in fact done so in the past. In 2008, Drew received $1,000 from the group.
Van Drew’s chief of staff wrote in response that he "stopped taking donations from them years ago and refused donations in the past several campaign cycles and will continue to refuse them."
In addition to McGrath, another woman was seen on camera criticizing Van Drew for his NRA rating.
"I don’t have any faith that you will ever vote for universal checks … you’re 100 percent NRA," Donna Challender told the New Jersey Democrat.
As of 2017, Van Drew's NRA rating was 100 percent, a reflection of his voting record and support for gun rights. The state senator has routinely supported efforts to loosen gun laws and fought against efforts to tighten restrictions. He has, however, also recently introduced legislation to ban bump stocks.
McGrath is supporting a different Democratic candidate in the race for New Jersey's 2nd Congressional district. The district's current representative, Republican Frank Lobiondo, has held the seat for more than 20 years but announced last year he would not run for reelection in 2018.