Democrat Brian Varela’s campaign to flip a GOP-held House seat in New Jersey has hit early headwinds from his social media posts that critics say smack of far-left extremism.
It threatens to trip up his run as a centrist, which had gained traction with big fundraising hauls that made him a standout in a crowded Democratic primary race.
Mr. Varela had retweeted left-wing activist voices, including Clinton-era Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s comment that President Trump’s immigration rhetoric was the “literal language of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.”
In a post of his own, Mr. Varela said “right-wing populism scapegoats, divides, and preys on fear [while] Left-wing populism calls out corporate greed, uplifts workers, and fights for fairness. One fuels anger; the other builds hope.”
In another post, he said “MAGA extremists” are “unapologetically misinformed/disinformed” and “bow to a corrupt, unethical child’s whims.”
Republicans said the posts show Mr. Varela is a fake moderate.
“Brian Varela’s true colors prove his priorities are fearmongering and encouraging political violence; not fighting for New Jerseyans,” said Maureen O’Toole, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “Varela’s true agenda is dangerous, and he’s unfit to serve in Congress.”
Mr. Varela responded by doubling down on his criticism of right-wing extremism and reaffirming his willingness to reach across the aisle on his own terms.
“If standing up for New Jersey families means extreme MAGA Republicans attack me, then so be it,” Mr. Varela said.
“I’m running to lower costs, protect health care, and make sure working people finally have a voice in Washington,” he continued. “I’ll work with anyone — Democrat or Republican — who’s serious about governing. But when politicians make decisions that hurt families or divide our communities, I’m going to fight back. That’s what doing your job looks like — something Tom Kean Jr. has been unable and unwilling to do.”
Mr. Varela, a first-generation American born to Colombian immigrants, is running as a working-class champion and self-made entrepreneur in his bid to challenge incumbent Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., a Republican.
In 2022, Mr. Varela ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary in another New Jersey district, losing to now-Rep. Rob Menendez, the son of ex-Sen. Bob Menendez. Mr. Varela aligned himself with the Forward Party, a centrist movement led by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican.
Mr. Varela, 36, helped to launch the Forward Party’s New Jersey chapter in 2022 and was one of its early leaders.
A challenge to Mr. Varela’s nominating petitions got him booted from the 2022 primary ballot.
Mr. Varelo is now running in the 7th Congressional District, on the opposite side of the state. There, Mr. Kean is running uncontested for the 2026 GOP nomination and a third House term.
In the third quarter of campaign fundraising, Mr. Varelo has once more surged to the lead, pushing his war chest over $1 million.
Many of the donations have come through ActBlue, the crowdfunding aggregator that allows individual donors to conceal their identities. Republican critics have accused it of exploiting loopholes in campaign-finance laws.
• Ben Sellers can be reached at bsellers@washingtontimes.com.
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