Rep. Rush Holt has decided not to seek reelection to a ninth term in Congress.
By Bill Sanservino
Rep. Holt’s decision to not run for re-election sparks primary battle
When Democratic Rep. Rush Holt announced on Feb. 14 that he did not intend to seek reelection to his seat, it sent a shockwave through the state Democratic Party, with several longtime assembly members facing off against each other for the right to run for the seat.
Those who have announced their candidacy for the seat include Ewing’s Bonnie Watson Coleman, who represents the 15th Legislative District in the state Assembly, 14th District state Senator Linda Greenstein of Plainsboro, and 17th District Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula of Franklin Township.
The battle has also pitted the Democratic organization in Mercer County, which supports Watson Coleman, against those in Middlesex, which is backing Greenstein, and Somerset, which is supporting Chivukula.
Watson Coleman is the only Democratic candidate to secure two county endorsements, also winning the support of the Union County Democrats.
Greenstein has won the endorsements of officials in at least three Mercer County towns.
Despite pressure by county Democrats to stay out of the race, the Hamilton Democratic club has decided to endorse Greenstein.
Also endorsing Greenstein are the West Windsor Township Council (Greenstein started her career as a member of the WW-P School Board), and Hightstown Mayor Steven Kirson and Council President Susan Bluth.
Mercer county towns in the 12th Congressional District include Ewing, East Windsor, Hightstown, Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, Lawrence, Pennington, Princeton, Trenton, West Windsor Township.
Meanwhile, Holt who has not endorsed any candidate for his seat, recently spoke the Ewing Observer’s Aliza Alperin-Sheriff about his perspective on Congress and his decision, his time in office, and where he might go from here. The transcript has been edited for clarity and continuity.
Ewing Observer: Why have you chosen not to seek reelection?
Rush Holt: Sixteen years is a good, long run. I certainly can leave with my head held high. I can leave, it appears, with the support and good will of most of my constituents and I still have the energy and ability to do other things. It’s usually better to leave at the top of your game than when people are saying, “Why did he hang around so long?”
EO: So many people I know are disappointed that you are not running for reelection. How does the reaction of your constituents make you feel?
Holt: First of all, they noticed. It crossed my mind I might say, “I’m not running for reelection” and nobody would notice. That has not been the case. Beyond that it’s actually been a very positive and supportive response. How can one not like that?
EO: You have said that you never intended to make the House your primary career. When you first ran did you intend, assuming you were reelected to do so, to serve as long as you have?
Holt: You know, if you asked most people back in 1998, they would have thought I wouldn’t be serving at all, let alone for eight terms. I remember I was asked to sign a term limit pledge back then. I said, “No, I’m not going to sign, I don’t think I will be serving forever, but I don’t believe in hard and fast term limits.”
EO: Do you think not intending making politics your career is uncommon in Congress?
Holt: Well, it is true that there are some people around who say, “Well, if you can be reelected, why wouldn’t you be?” but that’s based on the misconception that election or reelection is the goal. I’ve always said and reminded my staff that the election precedes the work. A representative is elected for two years so he or she can represent the people for the next two years, not a representative puts in two years of work so he or she can be reelected.
EO: What has been your greatest disappointment in Congress?
Holt: In the last few years, many people—not just one party—seem to be more worried about the current problems than hopeful about the future. They are more concerned with the debt ceiling, more concerned with the annual budgetary deficit than with the strengths of the country and strengths of the people.
There’s been an unwillingness to invest in education, in science research, in infrastructure when these would be easy investments to make and the payoff in the future would be great and yet we’re not making them.
It’s almost as if they don’t believe there will be a future when we can reap those benefits and that attitude is very disappointing to me. It is very un-American not to be looking for and planning for those things that will make the next generation more prosperous and have a better quality of life and a more fair society than last generation.
EO: You say that you still believe in Congress and don’t feel like it’s broken. How do you maintain an optimistic view of Congress?
Holt: I think a sense of history really helps. There is often this feeling that “Oh, we’ve never seen anything like this before, times are tougher than they have ever been, the younger generation isn’t up to the job, our debts are unmanageable” and a little sense of history will tell you that we shouldn’t let concerns about these things cripple us or debilitate us. We’ve faced greater debt, we’ve watched generation after generation rise to the challenge, we’ve gotten through tough times—tougher times than this—many times before.
And also, members of Congress, if you look at them individually, they are by and large smart, altruistic and dedicated and there’s just some strange complex behaviors that have been occurring recently that we have to change.
EO: And what are your plans for the future?
Holt: They are wide open. I’m not saying no to anything, but I’ve hardly started to consider what I might do next. I’ve considered enough to be confident that there are plenty of possibilities and I won’t be a street person. That’s about it for now.
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