Only three U.S. House incumbents avoided primary challengers.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, considered New Jersey's most vulnerable House incumbent, will face two Republican primary opponents before he can take on well-funded Democratic challenger Josh Gottheimer in November.
Peter Vallorosi of Newton and Michael Cino of Demarest filed petitions with the state Division of Elections to challenge Garrett in the state's June 7 primary. Cino lost to Garrett in the 2012 GOP congressional primary.
Candidates could still have their petition signatures challenged and be left off the ballot if they failed to meet the 200-name threshold, or could decide to pull out of the race before the primary.
Garrett has been criticized for reportedly saying he would not support the House Republicans' fundraising arm because it backed gay candidates. In a recent interview, the seven-term incumbent insisted that his litmus test was whether a candidate backed the Republican platform's opposition to same-sex marriage, not the sexual orientation of a particular nominee.
A House Financial Services subcommittee chairman, Garrett has been a prolific fundraiser among Wall Street and banking employees. In response to his comments, however, some companies have said they will no longer make political action committee contributions to his campaign. Even so, Garrett banked $2.4 million for his re-election campaign through Dec. 31.
His Democratic opponent, former White House speechwriter Josh Gottheimer, entered 2016 with $1.3 million in the bank.
Garrett is not the only incumbent facing a primary in June.
The dean of the congressional delegation, Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th Dist.) is being challenged by Republican Bruce MacDonald of Hamilton. The Democratic candidate will be Lorna Phillipson of Spring Lake Heights, who lost a state Assembly race last year.
Three districts will see primaries on both sides of the aisle.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) faces a Republican rematch with Rick Van Glahn, who he defeated in the 2014 primary. Democrats Lee Ann Brogowski of Mount Tabor, who unsuccessfully sought the party's nod two years ago; Joseph Wenzel of West Orange; and Richard McFarlane of Haskell all want to take him on.
Likewise, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) is being challenged in the GOP primary by David Larsen of Oldwick, who also ran for the seat in 2012. Democrats Peter Jacob and Chris Faraone, both of Union, are seeking their party's nomination.
And while Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd Dist.) tries to fend off a challenge from Ednard Enes of Milmay, two Democrats are vying for their party's nomination, David Cole of Sewell and Costantino "Tino" Rizzo of Vineland. Cole lost the 2014 Democratic primary.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th Dist.) has a primary challenge from former Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones. Running on the Republican line is Hector Castillo of Paterson. He unsuccessfully ran as an independent for governor in 2005 and later was fined $25,000 for misusing his campaign funds.
And Rep. Albio Sires (D-8th Dist.) is being opposed by public school teacher Eloy Delgado of Elizabeth. The winner of the primary will go to Washington as there is no Republican candidate.
Two of the three House freshmen also have opposition from candidates in their own party.
Rep. Donald Norcross (D-1st Dist.) will face Alex Law of Oaklyn, who last year embarked on a 100-mile trek across the district. The Republican candidate is Bob Patterson of Voorhees.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12th Dist.) drew college professor Alexander Kucsma as a primary opponent. Steven Uccio of East Windsor is the GOP candidate.
The third freshman in the state's congressional delegation, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-3rd Dist.), escaped a primary. On the Democratic side, both former Asbury Park Councilman Jim Keady and Frederick John LaVergne of Delanco filed to run against him. Keady was endorsed by the Ocean County Democratic committee and LaVergne by the Burlington Democrats.
Keady was the person who Gov. Chris Christie famously told to "sit down and shut up" in 2014 after the activist complained about the pace of recovery from Hurricane Sandy. He unsuccessfully sought a state Assembly seat in 2015 on the same ticket as Phillipson. Lavergbe unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House seat in 2012 and 2014.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.), the top Democrat on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, also escaped a primary challenge. He will face Republican Brent Sonnek-Schmelz, who owns a chain of soccer gear stores and bought the City Sports brand out of bankruptcy.
Not only did Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-10th Dist.) avoid a primary, but he also doesn't have a Republican opponent in the general election.
In all, 37 candidates filed to run, with 21 Democrats and 16 Republicans.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook