Burlington County Republican Committee drops support for Eighth District Assemblyman Joe Howarth

Party officials say they believe Howarth attempted to switch to the Democratic Party along with state Sen. Dawn Addiego.

By Zane Clark

The Sun

It’s another political shocker regarding one of the elected officials representing Shamong Township at the state level.

About a week and a half after state Sen. Dawn Addiego (NJ-8) announced she was switching from Republican to Democrat, the Burlington County Republican Committee announced the organization would not be endorsing incumbent Republican Assemblyman Joe Howarth (NJ-8) for re-election later this year.

In a Feb. 8 statement from Burlington County Republican Chairman Sean Earlen, Erlen said he and other party officials believed Howarth had made an “apparent attempt” to join Addiego in “defecting” when Earlen said Howarth cut off contact with Republican leaders in the days following Addiego’s announcement.

“I have informed Joe Howarth that the Burlington County Republican Committee cannot in good conscience support his bid for re-election,” Earlen said. “While it is up to Joe to decide if he will continue to serve out the remainder of his term, his time as a candidate supported by our organization is over.”

However, in a post Howarth made to his Facebook page on Jan. 31 — three days after Addiego switched parties — he said he was not and would not ever switch to the Democratic Party.

“I am a little tired of people talking around me, talking about me, talking through me and not talking to me. I am not and will not ever switch to the Democratic Party,” Howarth said. “A few months ago, a rumor was spread that I was not running for re-election. I will again say, that I have always intended to run as a Republican.”

Of note, however, was the timing of Howarth’s statement.

While fellow Eighth District Assemblyman Ryan Peters released a statement concerning Addiego’s switch on Jan. 28 — the same day she made her announcement- Howarth did not publicly comment on the matter until three days after Addiego’s switch became public knowledge.

It was in that time that local Republican leaders said they could not reach Howarth, believing that he was also attempting to switch parties.

“After finally speaking with Joe, and weighing his words and his actions against contrary evidence, I consulted with other party leaders and arrived at the indisputable fact that Joe Howarth no longer deserves party support,” Earlen said.

Howarth, contrary to the statements of Republican leaders, said he had no knowledge that Addiego planned to switch parties.

“I also will never understand why it happened, but may over time find out why it happened,” Howarth said. “Whatever the reason, I hope it was worth all the friends she had made over her career while she walked by my side and discussed many issues to and from events in the car. We will still have a relationship like I do with many on the other side of the isle, but it will never ever be the same.”

Howarth, a longtime Evesham resident, previously served on the Evesham Township School District Board of Education from 2003 to 2007, then serving on Evesham Township Council from 2009 to 2011.

He then went on to serve on the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 2012 to 2014, but left after just one term due to a fight with Crohn’s disease.

However, he re-entered local politics in 2015 when he ran and won his current Eighth District seat after former Eighth District Assemblyman Chris Brown announced he would not be seeking reelection.

Howarth narrowly won re-election to his Assembly seat in 2017, with Howarth and Peters receiving 25.2 percent and 24.9 percent of the vote respectively to their Democratic opponents, who received 24.8 percent and 24.4 percent.