All New Jersey races
2026 race

NJ-03 — U.S. House

3 active candidates on file with the FEC. Incumbent: Herb Conaway.

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Democratic primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Herb ConawayWon
Republican primary · Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Called by audit: web-verified
Michael Patrick McGuireWon57.0%
  • RJason CullenDefeated26.0%
  • RJustin BarberaDefeated17.0%
Election day
135days
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Disclosed money in race
$898K
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent

Currently in office

Challengers

Sorted by fundraising

Michael Patrick McGuire

R
ChallengerFEC H6NJ03184

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Raised this cycle$55K
Cash on hand: $23K
1 defeated candidate — show

Jason Cullen

RDefeated
ChallengerFEC H6NJ03176

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Raised this cycle$69K
Cash on hand: $8K
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.
Herb Conawaylimited coverage
No tracked coverage in the last 90 days yet.
Michael Patrick McGuirelimited coverage
No tracked coverage in the last 90 days yet.
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.

Total disclosed
$898K
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$898K
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$0
No outside spending reported yet.
CandidateRaised directlyOutside forOutside againstNet in corner
Herb Conaway(D)incumbent
$774K$774K
Michael Patrick McGuire(R)
$55K$55K
1 defeated candidate — show finances
CandidateRaised directlyOutside forOutside againstNet in corner
Jason Cullen(R)defeated
$69K$69K
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.

Herb Conaway(D)76% in-state · $320K itemized
$242K in-state$78K 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.

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.