U.S. House, New Jersey 5th Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District?
Josh Gottheimer has the strongest record in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. Josh Gottheimer scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Josh Gottheimer's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Sean Kirrane (6 of 15 criteria) and Adam Rueda (3 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Democratic · incumbent
Strongest record
Josh Gottheimer
68 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 75
- Performance
- 81
Republican
Sean Kirrane
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 55
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Adam Rueda
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 3 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Josh Gottheimer
- Mark against2025-04-10
Clerk records show stock trades in his jointly held managed account reported after the 45-day STOCK Act deadline in 11 reports from 2019 to 2025, including a March 2024 purchase reported in April 2025.
Sources: House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20029083, House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20021676, House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20021518, Business Insider, Jan. 3, 2023, Benzinga, Nov. 12, 2022
- On the record2026-02-03
Voted to concur in the Senate amendments to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 when Leader Jeffries voted against it.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 53, 2026
- On the record2025-01-22
Voted for the Laken Riley Act when Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted against it.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 23, 2025
- Credit2023
Ranked 9th of 436 House members on the Lugar Center Bipartisan Index for 2023.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
- Credit2022-12-29
Sponsored the House version of the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022, which GovTrack lists among his enacted bills.
Source: GovTrack, enacted legislation
Sean Kirrane
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Adam Rueda
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Josh Gottheimer. Clerk records show stock transactions in his jointly held managed account reported after the 45-day deadline in 11 reports from 2019 to 2025; Business Insider and Benzinga reported a late 2022 report. No House Ethics finding or FEC fine.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Committee on Ethics site search for Gottheimer, House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20029083, House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20021518, Business Insider, Jan. 3, 2023, Benzinga, Nov. 12, 2022
Sean Kirrane. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00918342
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Josh Gottheimer. Voted against his party leadership on several significant measures, including the 2025 Laken Riley Act and the 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act, both opposed by Leader Jeffries.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 23, 2025, House Clerk Roll Call 53, 2026
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Josh Gottheimer. His office reports 120 "Cup of Joe with Josh" live town halls and holds telephone town halls. No 2026 general election debate or forum with Kirrane found.
Source: Office site, home page
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Josh Gottheimer. Has served in the House since 2017 after work as a White House speechwriter, Microsoft executive and senior counselor to the FCC chairman. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee finding found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Josh Gottheimer, House Committee on Ethics site search for Gottheimer
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Josh Gottheimer. Voted Nay on both January 2021 objections to the Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral votes and is not on the Texas v. Pennsylvania House amicus list. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Josh Gottheimer. In the U.S. House since January 2017, seeking a sixth term.
Source: GovTrack, Josh Gottheimer
Sean Kirrane. An entrepreneur and executive affiliated with Cortex-X, the Kirrane Group and Arcadia Health Partners. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sean Kirrane
Adam Rueda. A 2019 Bucknell graduate whose career experience is in sales. No leadership post or public office documented.
Source: Ballotpedia, Adam Rueda
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Josh Gottheimer. Ranking member of the Intelligence Subcommittee on the National Security Agency and Cyber, and a member of Financial Services. Sponsored the House version of the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022.
Source: GovTrack, committee membership
Sean Kirrane. Published positions in general terms through his Ballotpedia survey.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sean Kirrane
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Josh Gottheimer. His office offers an e-newsletter and reports regular live town halls, and posts news releases. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office site, home page, Ballotpedia, Josh Gottheimer
Sean Kirrane. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sean Kirrane
Adam Rueda. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Source: Ballotpedia, Adam Rueda
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Josh Gottheimer. Born in Essex County, New Jersey; the official candidate list gives a Ridgewood mailing address in the district. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 19 percent of itemized individual contributions from New Jersey.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey Division of Elections, official candidate list, FEC contribution totals by state
Sean Kirrane. Born in Westwood, Bergen County, and gives a River Vale address on the official candidate list. FEC by-state totals show about 69 percent of itemized individual contributions from New Jersey.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Sean Kirrane, New Jersey Division of Elections, official candidate list, FEC contribution totals by state
Adam Rueda. Raised in Andover Township, Sussex County, and gives a Newton address on the official candidate list.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Adam Rueda, candidate survey, New Jersey Division of Elections, official candidate list
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Josh Gottheimer. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00573949
Sean Kirrane. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00918342
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Josh Gottheimer. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 0.970 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 0.535, exceeding expectations. GovTrack lists five enacted bills he sponsored.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, enacted legislation
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Josh Gottheimer. Missed 200 of 5,079 roll call votes, 3.9 percent, from January 2017 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Josh Gottheimer. Runs district offices in Fair Lawn and Newton plus scheduled office hours in five more towns, and his office reports 22,959 constituent cases resolved since 2017.
Sources: Office site, Contact, Office site, home page
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Josh Gottheimer. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of 2.07107 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress, 2023), ranked 9 of 436, in the top quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Josh Gottheimer. No public record found.
Sean Kirrane. No public record found.
Adam Rueda. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 9, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District?
Josh Gottheimer has the strongest record in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District. Josh Gottheimer scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Josh Gottheimer's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Sean Kirrane (6 of 15 criteria) and Adam Rueda (3 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District in 2026?
Josh Gottheimer (Democratic, incumbent), Sean Kirrane (Republican), Adam Rueda (Independent). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Josh Gottheimer a good candidate for Congress?
Josh Gottheimer scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 50 of 100, qualifications 75 of 100, performance 81 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Sean Kirrane a good candidate for Congress?
Sean Kirrane has public evidence on 6 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Adam Rueda a good candidate for Congress?
Adam Rueda has public evidence on 3 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every New Jersey race scored, and the New Jersey 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.