During a night when most national pollsters got it wrong, Hillary Clinton supporters watched in shock as Donald J. Trump picked up enough seats to win the Electoral College. The events of the evening prompted Nate Silver, a prominent non-partisan statistician who correctly predicted the results of the last two presidential elections (in 49 out of 50 states in 2008 and all 50 states in 2012) to express his own surprise as he called the election for Trump in the early hours of Wednesday morning after having predicted Clinton to decisively win the White House. “It’s the most shocking political development of my lifetime,” he blogged.
Teaneck resident Jason Greenblatt, who served as Trump’s Israel adviser and has worked for Trump as legal counsel for the past 20 years, expressed gratitude and pride regarding the win. Greenblatt, and his co-adviser, David Friedman, have maintained over the course of the campaign, that Trump is respectful and supportive of their opinions and has consistently been mischaracterized by the media. Greenblatt even was photographed attending a maa’riv service at Trump Towers on election night. “I am confident that President-elect Trump will earn the trust of all Americans, regardless of whom they supported on Election Day — and, in so doing, bring about much-needed change. President-elect Trump’s goal is to unify our beloved country, and I believe that even those who did not vote for him will come to see that he is the right person to lead us over the next four, and hopefully eight, years,” said Greenblatt.
Closer to home, northern New Jersey residents watched history being made as first-time candidate Jewish Democrat Josh Gottheimer handily grabbed the 5th District congressional seat from seven-term Republican Rep. Scott Garrett. At press time, Gottheimer had won a decisive 55 percent of the vote; Garrett received just 42 percent. With the Republican majority widening in the House of Representatives, Gottheimer’s election represents an outlier, somewhat inconsistent with national trends. In the rest of New Jersey, every other congressional incumbent, which included six Democrats and five Republicans, were re-elected.
The Gottheimer-Garrett matchup was a tumultuous race, characterized chiefly by negative attack ads, Robocalls, name-calling and partisan mudslinging, but Gottheimer campaigned hard and consistently stayed on point, taking most local Republican operatives by surprise. While most New Jersey residents had never heard of Gottheimer, a former Clinton White House speechwriter, before the summer, the northern New Jersey Jewish community got to know him through the summer and fall through dozens of public appearances, parlor meetings, roundtables and events in and around Bergen County. Gottheimer went to shul dinners, the state fair and even made an appearance at Congregation Beth Abraham’s Simchat Torah hakafot during this past Yom Tov season.
With monetary support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, significant ad buys from the House Majority PAC and numerous other funding sources totaling $10 million according to several estimations, Gottheimer’s message attacking his opponent resonated. The result was the flipping of a seat that has been held by Republicans since 1983. Throughout two redistrictings, significant portions of the district have been represented by Republicans since 1933. The 5th Congressional District also voted to send only Republicans to the White House since 2000, but Bergen County, which houses 70 percent of district voters, overwhelmingly supported Clinton for the White House this year, with 52 percent voting for Clinton and only 42 percent for Trump.
Gottheimer’s election night victory party took place at the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton. “Over the past year I have gotten to know Josh and campaigned with him in Teaneck and other towns,” said Mohammed Hameeduddin, Teaneck’s mayor, who was at the election night event. “He won this race literally by meeting his constituents in living rooms. He won vote by vote. He met with small groups and large groups,” he said. Hameeduddin added that Gottheimer talked passionately with residents about infrastructure, the economy and taxes. “These issues should be bipartisan and he won over Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the 5th District,” he said.
Hameeduddin also noted that his close friend and colleague on the Teaneck Town Council, Mark Schwartz, who is also The Jewish Link’s co-publisher, supported Garrett. “But the point is, we work together, Jews and Muslims, Democrats and Republicans.”
Hameeduddin added his hope that everyone should now focus on what’s important. “Anyone can do the autopsy of why Hillary lost the election, but that’s a moot point now. We have a peaceful transition now and we battle out ideas and we hold everyone accountable. But the ultimate goal is that we all work together to make the lives of American people better, and that we’re still one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all,” said Hameeduddin.
As greetings from world leaders poured in for Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had particularly warm words. Speaking directly to President-elect Trump, he said, “You are a great friend of Israel. Over the years, you’ve expressed your support consistently, and I deeply appreciate it. I look forward to working with you to advance security, prosperity and peace.”
Similarly, the Orthodox Union issued a statement congratulating the president-elect and thanking Clinton for her years of service to the American people. “The Orthodox Union looks forward to working with President Trump and his administration on issues of critical importance to our community, including strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship, expanding educational opportunity and choice for all American children, defending America’s ‘first freedom’ of religious liberty and more.”
By Elizabeth Kratz
