GOP dumps NJ house candidate who criticized diversity

The decision by the National Republican Congressional Committee Monday to pull its support for Seth Grossman, the GOP nominee in New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District, gives Democrats yet another advantage in a race they were already favored to flip.

The move by the NRCC follows weeks of negative headlines highlighting Grossman's history of inflammatory comments, including calling diversity "a bunch of crap and un-American" at a candidate forum in April.

"Bigotry has no place in society -- let alone the U.S. House of Representatives. The NRCC withdraws our support of Seth Grossman and calls on him to reconsider his candidacy," committee Chairman Steve Stivers said in a statement.

Ahead of the June primary Grossman struggled to raise money -- pulling in less than $23,000 during the first five and a half months of this year. It's hard to see his prospects improving now that he's been publicly jettisoned by the national party.

Democratic nominee Jeff Van Drew reported more than $400,000 in the bank as of mid-May, and has been named to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" program for top recruits.

Barring an unexpected development, Democrats should be able to count on the 2nd District turning blue in November -- with the party needing a net gain of 23 seats to win control of the House.

By Terence Burlij. The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

The Gayly – July 10, 2018 @ 3:15 p.m. CDT.