Long Valley Resident Puts Hat In The Ring For Malinowski’s Seat

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A candidate who says he “cares too much to give up” on New Jersey has decided to run for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

John Isemann, 27, of Long Valley, said he sees what’s happening around the country in terms of polarization of politics, with his Millennial generation voting “five times for left than right,” where he especially sees the impact on New Jersey.

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“I could have sat by and watched from NYC or escaped to Florida or North Carolina like everyone else, but I care too much about this place to give up - or to entrust the same politicians - on all sides - who have sat by and done little to change it for decades,” Isemann told Patch.

He said in Congress, there’s been a new wave of young dynamic leaders, mostly on the Democratic side of the aisle, controlling dialogue and policy discussions. He believes conservative leaders need to be elected to match the energy of the left and champion New Jersey’s conservative values to a new generation, to turn the state around.

He cites New Jersey as leading in the United States in “taxes, regulation, spending and people leaving.”

“This place that was once reliably moderate, livable, and politically relevant now has completely lopsided representation in Washington,” he said.

Isemann, who worked in a corporate and business career after completing his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, with time spent at Pepperdine University and the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, said he left his job, sunk his savings and put his life on hold to run for Congress.

“I think we can all agree it’s that important, but it will be worth it,” Isemann said.

Never having been in elected office or a political position before, outside of when he was Class President at West Morris Central High School where he graduated in 2012 and when he was a Freshman Class Senator at Pepperdine University, Isemann says he’s served the community for well over a decade locally and even internationally, with the Market Street Mission, Family Promise, Recovery HUB and Beyond the Walls.

“This is shaping up to be the most competitive and important House race in the 2022 Midterms,” Isemann said, referring to Malinowski as “the weakest in the country,” with a federal investigation pending on $3 million in stock trades made during the pandemic.

Isemann also called Malinowski - the representative for all of Hunterdon, and parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren Counties, "the “furthest left of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation,” stating Malinowski moved back to New Jersey just to run for office, after 25 years as a DC lobbyist.

In the Republican primary, Isemann will challenge Tom Kean, Jr., who is leaving the New Jersey State Senate’s 21st District himself to pursue his Congressional run against Malinowski.

“Though the Kean family has certainly helped build New Jersey/the NJ GOP and Kean Jr. has spent his entire career in political service, his time in the legislature has coincided with New Jersey falling apart and the Republican Party falling into near permaminority status,” he added.

He said it’s also Kean’s fourth run for national office since 2000, commenting, “If the third time wasn’t the charm, we’re not seeing all that much different about the fourth.”

Rather than having spent time lobbying in D.C. or Trenton, Isemann says he’s “spent more time in the private sector and has more real-life experience living, working and trying to build a life in New Jersey than both Toms combined.”

He says he’s not running for a title or for entitlement, “but rather to bring real change to the state and country he loves.”

New ideas and new energy are things he hopes to bring to New Jersey, not just what’s best for the state and country but for the backyards of the region where he grew up, Isemann said.

Among his policy pillars is a focus on education, calling it the “great equalizer,” with a need to challenge the status quo, continue to train and pay world class teachers and stand up to unions like the NJEA.

Innovation is another, he said with the 7th Congressional District paying more in taxes than 99 percent of the country, the number one reason he says there’s an exodus from the state and region. Cutting taxes, supporting small business and bringing opportunity back to New Jersey, were some of the things he said he’d advocate for.

“We need to create innovative solutions in the arenas of fiscal policy, infrastructure, healthcare and the environment,” he said.

He says Congress is in need of reform, to reduce corruption and educate and ignite American’s youth, with voters looking for more bipartisanship and fewer lobbyists. He believes in a 12-year-term limit and lifetime ban on lobbying after leaving office.

“We need to push dark money out of elections and advocate for nonpartisan redistricting,” Isemann said.

Find out more about Isemann at his website www.johnisemann.com and see more about his platform in the video below:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.