Pallone brews victory from Little challenge
Holt bests challenger for 12th District seat
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
In a year when many Democrats across the country failed to keep their seats in Congress, 11-term Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District) was able to hold onto his in a heated race, coming away with a message from voters:
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District) is joined by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (l-r), his wife Sarah and Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna as he addresses a crowd of supporters after winning a twelfth term on Nov. 2 KENNY WALTER staff “We have to have a government that responds to the average person and protects the average person. I really feel tonight the residents of my district sent a message,” said Pallone, a resident of Long Branch.
Pallone won the 6th District with 55 percent of the vote, defeating challenger Highlands Mayor Anna Little, who took home 44 percent of the vote in the Nov. 2 general election.
In total, Pallone received 79,650 votes while Little tallied 64,118.
About 100 of Pallone’s friends, family and supporters gathered at Carpenter’s Hall in Red Bank on election night.
Early results had Pallone down by two points, but when the ticker came across the television screen with Pallone up 11 points, his supporters immediately started to chant, “We Want Frank.”
Pallone, New Jersey Sen. Robert Lautenberg and Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna emerged from a back room, with Lautenberg addressing the crowd.
“He is terrific, and I’m proud to serve with him,” he said. “Frank Pallone’s race is a signal to the other side that no matter how rough they campaign, no matter how tough the vernacular is, the fact is that we stand on the issues, and we are going to recover from whatever happens down in Washington.”
Pallone then spoke about the direction he’d like the country to head toward.
“The concern I have is as we move forward as a country, we really were trying to stabilize the economy, we were trying to grow the middle class,” he said. “I always felt my goal is essentially to try to protect the average American.”

Pallone said he is proud of some of the accomplishments of the Democrats during his current term, such as Wall Street reform and health care reform.
He also addressed the growing popularity of the Tea Party movement and what his concerns about the movement are.
“The problem is, of course, unemployment is still high and people say ‘We’d like things to be better,’ and they’re right,” he said. “What we don’t need is those policies that were expressed by the Tea Party movement which basically says there shouldn’t be any government regulation, we should repeal the Wall Street reform, we should repeal the health care reform.
“Basically get rid of corporate income taxes, get rid of any income tax,” he added. “These are the policies that are not good for the average person.
In an interview last week, Pallone expanded on some of his ideas to bolster the economy and create jobs.
“People want the economy to grow, they want the middle class to grow, and they want us to create jobs,” he said. “I think what my theme is what I call ‘Make It in America.’ ”
“The idea is we have to bring jobs back here, and that means having a national manufacturing policy that looks for new technologies where we can make things in America,” he added. “A good example of that would be renewable resources, where we can make the wind turbines for offshore windmills or the solar panels for solar energy.”
Pallone mentioned other goals aimed at creating jobs.
“I think we have to plug up tax loopholes that send jobs overseas, and we have to look at unfair trade practices from other countries such as China that subsidizes their products and dumps them in the United States,” he said. He also said he will continue to work to protect the coastal environment.
“In our area, tourism is very important and I have to continue to make sure the ocean is clean,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t want any offshore oil or gas drilling.”
Pallone said he has three bills drafted that will improve the shore by mitigating pollution problems, improving infrastructure and job creation.
Pallone drew more votes than Little in Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties, but Little bested Pallone in Monmouth County, tallying 40,367 votes to his 36,827.
He explained his down numbers in Monmouth.
“I think Monmouth County is more of a Republican-leaning county, is the bottom line,” he said. “I usually don’t do as well in Monmouth than some of the other counties historically.”
However, in Pallone’s hometown of Long Branch, he won with 3,263 votes to Little’s 2,177.
Even though the race was closer than past races, Pallone said he did not approach the election any differently.
“I’m still out there talking about what I do and what I’m trying to do to help people and grow the middle class,” he said. “It wasn’t that different, because I’m basically talking about my record and what I’ve accomplished in Congress.”
Pallone’s party will now be the minority in the House of Representatives, but he said he does not plan to approach his job any differently.
“When you are elected, whether you are in the minority or the majority, you are still trying to do the same thing: pass legislation and initiatives that are going to help your constituents,” he said. “It doesn’t matter that much, because you are still going to try to achieve the same goals.”
Pallone serves as a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues pertaining to energy, environment, health care, commerce and telecommunications.
He chairs the committee’s Subcommittee on Health, which has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee.
The Health Subcommittee oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction, and all health care/homeland security related concerns.
Little, who marshaled an army of supporters, dubbed Anna’s Army, campaigned for Pallone’s seat with the backing of the Tea Party movement.
She thanked supporters on her website, saying, “What an honor and a privilege it has been to work alongside so many great American patriots in the Anna Little for Congress Campaign. While we may not have won this battle, we have not lost the war. We have only just begun to fight for the principles we hold so dear.”
Another local race that saw a Democrat retain his seat was in the 12th District, where six-term incumbent Rush Holt withstood Republican challenger Scott Sipprelle.
Holt received 105,457 votes over Sipprelle’s 91,677.
Holt also thanked supporters on his website.
“It has been an honor to serve as your representative for over a decade,” he wrote. “It is with great humility that I continue the privilege of public service to the people of Central New Jersey.
“I will return to Congress with the same vigor and purpose that I have maintained for the past 12 years,” he added. “I will continue fighting to extend opportunity, ensure fairness and build community.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
Kwalter@gmnews.com.