Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) is set to face a Democratic primary challenge once again this year, with cannabis dispensary owner and Cherry Hill native Lonnie Affrime announcing that he will take on the congressman from the left.
Affrime, a first-time candidate and Bernie 2016 delegate who said he previously worked on policy and opposition research for campaigns and elected officials, argued that Norcross’s 1st district in South Jersey should be represented by more of a committed progressive in Congress.
“I’m not going to pretend that Donald Norcross is the worst person,” Affrime said. “He certainly votes mostly with the Democratic Party… But the truth is that my opponent still represents the corporate-captured interests that really are the problem with the Democratic Party.”
Norcross, the brother of South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross, is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is a reliably liberal vote in the House on all but a handful of issues. But he’s nonetheless drawn the frequent ire of local progressives, most notably the South Jersey Progressive Democrats, a coalition of anti-establishment Democrats with which Affrime said he’s affiliated.
Affrime cited fighting corruption as a driving force behind his campaign: halting insider trading, reducing corporate influence, and implementing a “trickle-up” economic system. He also drew attention to other progressive policies like combating climate change and passing Medicare for All, which he said Norcross has only paid lip service to without truly fighting for.
“My opponent said, during his previous campaign against a more progressive candidate, that he supported Medicare for All,” he said. “But ever since then, he’s said virtually nothing about Medicare for All, because he doesn’t actually support that.” (Norcross signed on as a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act four years ago, but has not done so for updated versions of the same bill during the last two House sessions.)
The last time Norcross faced a primary challenge in his safely blue, Camden County-based district was in 2022, when teacher Mario De Santis took him on and lost 77% to 23%. South Jersey Progressive Democrats tried to field a challenger once again in 2024, but their recruit, Tiff D’Amico, quietly dropped out of the race prior to the filing deadline.
Given that history, Affrime is a longshot to win, and he knows it – “Clearly, I am the underdog,” he admitted – but he said that won’t deter him from running.
“This is my neighborhood, and I want to do right by the neighborhoods that helped me grow up into the person I became,” Affrime said. “I really love Cherry Hill and all of South Jersey. I think it’s a great place to raise a family, and I think these people deserve better.”
