Overview
- Mullock, the mayor of Cape May, defeated four-term Rep. Jeff Van Drew and Van Drew publicly conceded, completing the Democratic flip of the 2nd District.
- Unofficial tallies reported Mullock with roughly 52.6–52.8% of the vote to Van Drew’s roughly 46.4–46.5%, figures published by outlets using Decision Desk HQ counts.
- Mullock ran on local government experience, affordability and bipartisanship while criticizing Van Drew’s support for Trump-aligned policies on Medicaid and votes on Iran.
- Mullock was heavily outraised for most of the year but received late help from national Democrats and outside groups, including a reported $1.5 million super PAC ad buy in the final week.
- The loss removes a high-profile Trump ally who switched from Democrat to Republican in 2019 and adds both symbolic weight and numeric help to Democrats’ midterm gains for control of the House.