There's a fight going down in CD-2, where the DCCC now sees a real opportunity for Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock to pick off incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2).

"We've been feeling it on the ground," Mullock told InsiderNJ between scheduled campaign events. "The DCCC finally came to their senses. There is a groundswell of people in CD-2 looking for change."

Van Drew, though, has a habit of sticking around. Why is 2026 different?

"South Jersey is a no BS area," said Mullock. "The Democrats are guilty of some BS," he admitted. But the GOP under President Donald Trump's leadership has gone to a new low.

The war. The corruption. Selling pardons. Cashing in on Bitcoin. Free rein to big tech. Gas and grocery prices. The debt. "They're rubbing it in people's faces," said Mullock, and people - this time - know it. "It's insane."

A mayor of six years, Mullock has a bipartisan record in Cape May, where he has cultivated allies across the aisle, hiring a Republican for city manager and working with a GOP deputy mayor.

A Democrat turned Republican during the Trump era, Van Drew has enabled Trump's onslaught on middle class and poor Americans, Mullock argues. The unpopular data center in Vineland is one example. "It's a $17 billion dollar project - a huge project, in the poorest county in the state. Folks are asking questions and they have not been told the truth." Van Drew, Mullock said, has taken money from big tech, is investing in crypto and voting on crypto. That kind of compromised representation would change when Mullock gets into office, he said.

Ron Filan, campaign manager for Van Drew, said:

"Once again, Zack Mullock is lying.

"The United States Congress has absolutely no role to play in, and members of Congress are prohibited from having any involvement in, applications before local zoning and planning boards.

"When it comes to data centers in general, regardless of whether they are here in South Jersey or anywhere in America, Congressman Van Drew has always maintained that they should generate their own power and not drain local resources or be a burden to the neighboring community financially, environmentally, or otherwise - which is why he has sponsored bipartisan legislations that affect.

"Mullock knows better, but he's getting desperate given how much traction Ramon Mora Jr, the progressive anti-data center candidate, has gotten on this issue.

"When it comes to Iran, Congressman Van Drew has been very clear and publicly stated that he would like to see the Iran conflict come to a close as quickly as possible, because our focus needs to be on America and Americans.

"We need to get the job done and achieve our objectives without creating additional uncertainty in the Middle East as that would only drive gas prices even higher."

For its part, the DCCC last week said adding CD-2 to its "Districts in Play" sends a clear message that Democrats know New Jersey voters "are souring on Van Drew’s wildly unpopular record of raising costs, attacking affordable health care, standing by corruption, and hurting working families."

“No Values Jeff Van Drew is everything wrong with politics, and Jerseyans are fed up with his penchant for putting political expediency over his constituents. He is a spineless politician who prioritizes tax breaks for the wealthiest few while gutting health care and raising costs for his constituents. That’s why they’ll send him packing next month,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.

Governor Mikie Sherrill nearly won this district in 2025, coming within single digits. As