Steven Welzer
Steven Welzer (Green Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 5, 2024.[source]
Welzer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Steven Welzer was born in Newark, New Jersey. He earned a high school diploma from Columbia High School, a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 1976, and a graduate degree from Rutgers University in 1983. His career experience includes working as a journalist. As of 2024, Welzer was affiliated with Green Horizon Magazine.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024
New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)
New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
The following candidates are running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Herbert C. Conaway Jr. (D) | |
 | Rajesh Mohan (R) | |
 | Steven Welzer (G)  | |
 | Justin Barbera (Join The Revolution Party) | |
 | Chris Russomanno (L) | |
 | Douglas Wynn (Why Not Wynn Party) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Herbert C. Conaway Jr. defeated Carol Murphy, Joseph Cohn, Sarah Schoengood, and Brian Schkeeper in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Herbert C. Conaway Jr. | 49.6 | 27,528 |
 | Carol Murphy | 25.3 | 14,049 | |
 | Joseph Cohn | 11.7 | 6,517 | |
 | Sarah Schoengood | 10.0 | 5,524 | |
 | Brian Schkeeper | 3.4 | 1,862 | |
| Total votes: 55,480 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andrew Kim (D)
- Alexander Hammerli (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Rajesh Mohan defeated Shirley Maia-Cusick, Michael Francis Faccone, and Gregory Sobocinski in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on June 4, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rajesh Mohan | 38.0 | 13,011 |
 | Shirley Maia-Cusick | 30.7 | 10,507 | |
 | Michael Francis Faccone | 17.0 | 5,812 | |
 | Gregory Sobocinski | 14.4 | 4,947 | |
| Total votes: 34,277 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) defeated Steven Uccio (R) and several third party candidates in the general election on November 8, 2016. Watson Coleman defeated Alexander Kucsma in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2016. Watson Coleman won re-election in the November 8 election.[2][3][3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Bonnie Watson Coleman Incumbent |
62.9% | 181,430 | |
| Republican | Steven Uccio | 32% | 92,407 | |
| Legalize Marijuana | Edward Forchion | 2.1% | 6,094 | |
| Teddy Roosevelt Progressive | Robert Shapiro | 1% | 2,775 | |
| Libertarian | Thomas Fitzpatrick | 0.9% | 2,482 | |
| Green | Steven Welzer | 0.7% | 2,135 | |
| We the People | Michael Bollentin | 0.5% | 1,311 | |
| Total Votes | 288,634 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bonnie Watson Coleman Incumbent |
93.6% | 66,479 | ||
| Alexander Kucsma | 6.4% | 4,525 | ||
| Total Votes | 71,004 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections |
||||
2015
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015.[5] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Incumbent Wayne DeAngelo and incumbent Daniel Benson were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. David Jones and Philip Kaufman were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. DeAngelo and Benson defeated Jones, Kaufman, Steven Welzer (G) and Joann Cousin (G) in the general election.[6][7][8][9][10]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 14 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Wayne DeAngelo Incumbent |
30.2% | 22,319 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Benson Incumbent |
28.7% | 21,187 | |
| Republican | David Jones | 19.6% | 14,474 | |
| Republican | Philip Kaufman | 18.9% | 13,937 | |
| Green | Joann Cousin | 1.4% | 1,028 | |
| Green | Steven Welzer | 1.3% | 957 | |
| Total Votes | 73,902 | |||
2014
Welzer ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 12th District.[11] He lost to Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) in the general election.[12] The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bonnie Watson Coleman |
61% | 90,430 | |
| Republican | Alieta Eck | 36.5% | 54,168 | |
| Green | Steven Welzer | 0.6% | 890 | |
| Truth Vision Hope | Kenneth Cody | 0.4% | 567 | |
| Democratic-Republican | Allen Cannon | 0.3% | 450 | |
| Legalize Marijuana | Don Dezarn | 0.9% | 1,330 | |
| Start the Conversation | Jack Freudenheim | 0.4% | 531 | |
| Total Votes | 148,366 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
2013
Welzer was a Green Party candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 2013.[13] Welzer lost in the general election on November 5, 2013.
- General Election
On November 5, 2013, Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno (R) won re-election as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. They defeated the Buono/Silva (D), Kaplan/Bell (L), Welzer/Alessandrini (I), Sare/Todd (I), Araujo/Salamanca (I), Schroeder/Moschella (I) and Boss/Thorne (I) ticket(s) in the general election.
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Chris Christie & Kim Guadagno |
60.3% | 1,278,932 | |
| Democratic | Barbara Buono & Milly Silva | 38.2% | 809,978 | |
| Libertarian | Kenneth Kaplan & Brenda Bell | 0.6% | 12,155 | |
| Independent | Steven Welzer & Patricia Alessandrini | 0.4% | 8,295 | |
| Independent | Diane Sare & Bruce Todd | 0.2% | 3,360 | |
| Independent | William Araujo & Maria Salamanca | 0.2% | 3,300 | |
| Independent | Hank Schroeder & Patricia Moschella | 0.1% | 2,784 | |
| Independent | Jeff Boss & Robert Thorne | 0.1% | 2,062 | |
| Total Votes | 2,120,866 | |||
| Election Results Via: New Jersey Department of State | ||||
Primaries
Incumbent Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono each faced a single opponent in the June 4 primary election. Christie and Buono won their respective parties' nominations with roughly 90 percent of the vote apiece.[14]
Former Atlantic City Councilman Seth Grossman was the sole Republican to challenge the first-term governor. Grossman's campaign criticized Christie for actions taken during his first term, while Buono's opponent Troy Webster, adviser to the mayor of East Orange, argued that he was uniquely suited to making New Jersey friendlier to "the working poor and middle class families who have been literally 'thrown under the bus.'" Grossman and Webster were endorsed by the weekly publication NJ Today.[15]
Selection of running mates
In New Jersey, gubernatorial candidates have 30 days to select a lieutenant gubernatorial running mate with whom to share their ticket in the general election. Immediately after launching his re-election campaign, Christie announced that he would once again run alongside Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. Buono, meanwhile, waited until July 29 to announce her choice of union leader Milly Silva, the executive vice president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, as her running mate.[16][17] The ticket went up against incumbent pairing Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno in addition to a number of third-party opponents in the general election contest that took place on November 5, 2013.
Polling
Christie was favored to win re-election, with his campaign raising nearly double that of Buono's in the primary and maintaining a double-digit advantage in the polls throughout the election season.[18] In the final week before the general election, Christie boasted a 24.3 percent average polling lead.[19]
Public financing
Since 1977, New Jersey gubernatorial primary and general election candidates can qualify for a public funding program whereby candidates who raise a minimum amount of money are dispensed tax-generated funds, controlled by the state election law enforcement commission, in direct proportion to campaign donations given from the public. In 2013, the qualifying sum for primary gubernatorial candidates was $380,000.[20] The purpose of the program is to lessen the influence of corporate contributions in elections. On February 2, 2013, then-presumptive Democratic nominee Barbara Buono's campaign reported that it had surpassed the $380,000 mark.[21] By that time, Christie's campaign had raised $2 million. Compared to 2009 when Christie used matching funds in both the primary and general election phases, in 2013 he waited until after the primary to opt into the program. With matching funds, Christie became eligible for an additional $8 million approximately. The qualifying terms also required him to participate in two debates with Buono before the general election.[21]
2011
Welzer was a Green Party candidate for District 14 of the New Jersey General Assembly. He was defeated in the November 8 general election. Daniel Benson and Wayne DeAngelo ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. David Fried and Wayne Wittman defeated Bruce MacDonald in the Republican primary. However, Fried withdrew after the primary for health reasons and was replaced by Sheree McGowan.[22] The general election was held on November 8.[23]
| New Jersey General Assembly District 14 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Wayne DeAngelo Incumbent |
29% | 26,626 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Benson Incumbent |
28% | 25,662 | |
| Republican | Sheree McGowan | 20.9% | 19,135 | |
| Republican | Wayne Wittman | 20.8% | 19,100 | |
| Green | Steven Welzer | 1.3% | 1,189 | |
| Total Votes | 91,712 | |||
Speculation
Asbury Park Press
District 14 was one of only three districts that the Asbury Park Press identified as competitive in 2011. The other two were Districts 2 and 38. Districts 2 and 38 may have leaned more Republican after 2011 redistricting, and District 14 may still have favored Democrats. As evidence, they cited a drop in registered Democrats in Districts 2 and 38, and only a small decrease in registered Democrats in District 14. History has shown, argued APP, that districts where Democrats hold less than a 10,000 registered voter advantage typically favor the GOP. The Democratic registration advantage in District 14 was roughly 21,000, (down from 25,000).[24]
2009
Welzer lost to incumbents Declan O'Scanlon, Jr. (R) and Caroline Casagrande (R) in the 2009 elections. Also running were Democratic challengers John Amberg and Michelle Roth.[25]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Steven Welzer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Welzer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
Steven Welzer serves on the Editorial Board of the New Green Horizons webzine and is a member of the Elections Committee of the Green Party of New Jersey. He formerly served on the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States. Steve holds a master's degree in Economics from Rutgers University. He currently lives in East Windsor, NJ.
Our country needs a more open political system. There are surely more than just two perspectives on the issues. The electorate is clamoring for more voices in the system and more choices on the ballots. Let's implement Ranked-Choice Voting so that voters can readily consider expressing their preferences instead of feeling compelled to oppose "the greater evil."
- We’re facing a crisis of social and ecological unsustainability. The Republicans and Democrats have traded places running the country for 150 years. Their policies have jointly resulted in the inequality, militarism, and big-money domination of our politics that are at the root of the crisis we now face.
With over 800 bases worldwide and a military budget approaching $1 Trillion the United States can’t seem to resist getting itself involved in geopolitical conflicts. It’s not in our interest to try to play policeman all over the world. Money and our national reputation are being squandered on militarism. So I advocate closing all the bases, cutting the military budget in half, and reorienting our national priorities.
Revitalization of local community life.
Noam Chomsky had an important influence on many through his writings ... and Eugene Debs through his electoral campaigns.
Book: The Green Reader by Andrew Dobson.
Ideological clarity and consistency.
A distinctive alternative vision for the direction of our society.
To work toward national policies that foster social and ecological sustainability.
The establishment of a strong and enduring Green Party in our state and in our country.
John Kennedy was assassinated when I was 13.
I worked for my father in his camera store in South Orange all during my high school years.
The Green Reader by Andrew Dobson. It's a very good introduction to the novel political philosophy of the Green politics movement.
William Guest (in "News from Nowhere" by William Morris).
"Imagine" by John Lennon.
Ballot access! The two dominant duopolist parties do all they can to keep alternative candidates from appearing on voters' ballots!
The scale of a congressional district is such that the voters are able to have influence.
For a candidate, civic involvement can be as important as governmental service.
Imperial over-extension to the point of exhaustion and depletion.
Yes, though each electoral campaigning period should shortened so as to minimize the attention that needs to be devoted to being up for office every two years.
The voters can effectuate term limits via elections, we don't need laws for that purpose.
Bernie Sanders was very independent-minded when he served in the House (he has become too much an establishment figure as a Senator).
Some in my district have relatives in Gaza and are very concerned for their safety.
Donald Trump.
I am a strong advocate for demilitarization.
To investigate funds allocated in a misguided way to the military-industrial complex.
Christina Khalil, Robin Brownfield, Thomas Cannavo, Barry Bendar, Beau Forte, Herb Tarbous, Andrew Black, C. J. Robbins, Ben Taylor, Jon Serrano, Lily Benavides, and Kim Meudt.
Environmental and social welfare.
What happens to our tax dollars in Washington, DC is opaque and remote. Let's retain more of our resources and responsibilities locally.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 9, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Candidates for House of Representatives for Primary Election 6/7/2016," accessed April 5, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, "General election candidates," accessed August 11, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "genlist16" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ CNN, "New Jersey House 12 Results," November 8, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official list for candidate for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "General election candidates for U.S. House," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "2014 New Jersey House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ NJ.com, "Independents survive ballot challenges from Democrats," accessed June 14, 2013
- ↑ NJToday, "Primary election results," accessed June 5, 2013
- ↑ NJ Today, "EDITORIAL: Troy Webster For Governor," April 14, 2013
- ↑ NorthJersey.com, "Barbara Buono picks union leader Milly Silva as running mate," July 25, 2013
- ↑ NJ.com, "Buono announces Milly Silva as her lieutenant governor pick," July 29, 2013
- ↑ NJ News 12, "Poll: Christie remains popular in NJ," accessed April 15, 2013
- ↑ RealClearPolitics, "New Jersey Governor - Christie vs. Buono," accessed November 3, 2013
- ↑ NJ.com, "Sen. Buono raises almost $250K in first month of campaigning," January 2, 2013
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 The Star-Ledger, "Buono qualifies for public matching funds in N.J. governor's race," February 4, 2013
- ↑ NJ.com, "Sheree McGowan aims for Dave Fried's spot on GOP ticket in 14th District Assembly race," August 17, 2011
- ↑ 2011 Unofficial General Assembly General Election Candidate List (dead link)
- ↑ Asbury Park Press, "Race for Legislature was on," September 23, 2011
- ↑ Associated Press, "General Election Results, November 4, 2009," accessed April 10, 2014
