Republican Rep. Chris Smith easily wins primary in New Jersey

Rep. Chris Smith (R) easily won the Republican primary in New Jersey’s 4th District on Tuesday as he looks to win a 21st term in November.

Smith won with 95 percent of the vote of the vote, with 42 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press. He beat Alter Eliezer Richter, a 26-year-old rabbi who led protests against Pride Month celebrations.

Smith has not faced serious primary opposition for almost a decade, running uncontested or winning with over 80 percent of the Republican vote in the last four primaries.

In 2018, Smith won the general election against Democrat Josh Welle by 12 points. For a while, he became the only Republican representative from New Jersey after Democrats flipped four House seats in the 2018 midterms, until Rep. Jefferson Van Drew (R) switched parties after previously being a Democrat.

The New Jersey primaries were originally scheduled for June 2, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The state sent over three and a half million prepaid ballots to registered voters to reduce the number of in-person voters.