Herbert C. Conaway
DIncumbentFEC H4NJ03080
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Raised this cycle$1.2M
Cash on hand: $436K
2026 race
NJ-03 — U.S. House
4 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Herbert C. Conaway.
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See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the New Jersey Division of Elections.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$1.5M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Michael P. McGuire
RChallengerFEC H6NJ03184
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Raised this cycle$221K
Cash on hand: $17K
Ryan Michael Kelly
IChallengerFEC H6NJ03192
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Raised this cycle$6K
Cash on hand: $762
Steven Welzer
IChallengerFEC H4NJ03247
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
Local signal
Early read on NJ-03 — U.S. House
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Herbert C. Conawaylimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
Michael P. McGuirelimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$1.5M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$1.5M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$10
$10 for · $0 against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Herbert C. Conaway(D)incumbent + SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION $10 | $1.2M | $10 | — | $1.2M |
Michael P. McGuire(R) | $221K | — | — | $221K |
Ryan Michael Kelly(I) | $6K | — | — | $6K |
Steven Welzer(G) | $0 | — | — | $0 |
2 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason Cullen(R)defeated | $79K | — | — | $79K |
Justin Barbera(R)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside NJ versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Herbert C. Conaway(D)69% in-state · $376K itemized
$258K in-state$118K out-of-state
Michael P. McGuire(R)35% in-state · $53K itemized
$19K in-state$34K out-of-state
1 defeated candidate — show
Jason Cullen(R)defeated14% in-state · $7K itemized
$1K in-state$6K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Conaway | Mcguire | Kelly | Welzer | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abortion A national law should protect access to abortion in every state. | — | ||||
Abortion Each state should set its own abortion laws. | — | ||||
Abortion Access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments should be protected by federal law. | — | ||||
Abortion Access to contraception should be guaranteed by federal law in all states (Right to Contraception Act). | — | ||||
Criminal Justice Federal minimum sentences for non-violent drug crimes should be reduced or eliminated. | — | ||||
Criminal Justice Marijuana should be legal under federal law. | — | ||||
Criminal Justice Federal law should allow individuals to sue police officers for civil-rights violations even when officers claim qualified immunity. | — | ||||
Economy The federal minimum wage should be raised. | — | ||||
Economy The federal government should require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. | — | ||||
Education The government should forgive some federal student loan debt. | — | ||||
Environment The government should stop subsidizing oil and gas companies. | — | ||||
Environment Federal permitting and subsidies for new nuclear power plants should be expanded. | — | ||||
Foreign Policy The U.S. should spend more on the military. | — | ||||
Foreign Policy Conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel — tied to humanitarian or human-rights compliance — should be strengthened. | — | ||||
Guns All gun sales — including private ones — should require a background check. | — | ||||
Guns Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted. | — | ||||
Guns Federal law should authorize court-issued red-flag orders allowing temporary firearm removal from people deemed a danger. | — | ||||
Healthcare The government should provide healthcare for everyone. | — | ||||
Healthcare States, not the federal government, should decide who gets Medicaid and what it covers. | — | ||||
Healthcare Federal enforcement of mental-health insurance parity (equal coverage to medical care) should be strengthened. | — | ||||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | ||||
Immigration People who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children should have a path to citizenship. | — | ||||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | ||||
Judicial Reform Supreme Court justices should be subject to fixed terms (e.g. 18 years) rather than life tenure. | — | ||||
Labor Federal labor law should make it easier for workers to form unions (PRO Act-style reforms). | — | ||||
Labor Federal law should preserve state right-to-work laws against union security clauses. | — | ||||
Governance & Other There should be term limits for senators and representatives. | — | ||||
Governance & Other Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.