Cory Booker fundraising over Jeff Van Drew’s Democratic Party defection

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Cory A. Booker is actively fundraising against fellow New Jersey lawmaker Jeff Van Drew over the break with his party ahead of this week’s House impeachment vote.

“Jeff Van Drew has put his re-election prospects ahead of his duty at a time of crisis in our country,” Mr. Booker tweeted on Monday. “Let’s bring courageous leadership back to NJ-02.”

The senator included a link to the Democrats’ generic post for the eventual Democratic replacement for Mr. Van Drew.

The New Jersey representative is walking a fine line, after alienating part of his supporters by deciding to formally change parties.

“Republican or Democrat — We are all American,” the soon-to-be ex-Democrat’s Twitter bio now reads.

A handful of Mr. Van Drew’s staffers have already resigned because of the change, saying they can’t support a party that aligns with President Trump.

“We joined the office to serve the people of New Jersey’s Second Congressional District,” their letter read. “We greatly respect Congressman Van Drew and are deeply saddened and disappointed by his decision. As such, we can no longer in good conscience continue our service in the Congressman’s employ.”

DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos announced Sunday evening that they are welcome to come work for the Democrats’ campaign arm “until they land new jobs that align with their values.”

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Mr. Van Drew was planning to become a Republican after meeting with the president.

A vocal critic of the impeachment effort, Mr. Van Drew is the only member that publicly committed to defecting on the upcoming impeachment vote this week.

When he formally becomes a Republican this week, the New Jersey congressman will be the second lawmaker to defect from his party.

Rep. Justin Amash, a former House Freedom Caucus member, came out in support of impeachment over the summer and became the House’s sole independent member.

Mr. Van Drew comes from a true swing seat, only slightly leaning to the right. However, the president won that district by nearly 5% in 2016.

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Van Drew will vote as a Republican — his current record only lines up with the president about 7% of the time, according to an analysis from Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.