New Jersey GOP Rep. Jeff Van Drew lost his reelection race Tuesday in an upset to Democrat Zack Mullock.
Mr. Van Drew, 73, was elected to the House in 2018 as a Democrat but switched parties the following year.
Election forecasters had rated the race in his favor, but many Republican candidates across the country underperformed their polling numbers.
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He called Mr. Mullock to concede before the race was officially called Tuesday night.
Mr. Mullock, 41, is serving his second term as the mayor of Cape May.
Mr. Van Drew told The Philadelphia Inquirer that his defeat was “a little bit of a surprise” but attributed it to the national landscape and a Democratic wave election.
“It’s nothing that we’ve done locally,” he said.
Mr. Van Drew said he is still proud he changed parties: “I am more Republican than I ever was a Democrat.”
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