New Jersey
Democratic calls for a new nominee ramp up as Biden camp pledges to stay the course • New Jersey Monitor
WASHINGTON — Ten more congressional Democrats called on President Joe Biden to drop his reelection bid Friday, the most in a single day since a poor debate performance shook confidence among his fellow Democrats in his ability to win November’s election.
The 10 Democrats on Friday, the day after former President Donald Trump officially accepted his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, brought the total to 31, increasing the pressure on Biden to withdraw from the race.
While no member of congressional Democratic leadership has publicly called for Biden to step down, several top Democrats who were either involved with handling Trump’s impeachment trials or with investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have raised their concerns, citing the former president’s threat to democracy.
California Rep. Adam Schiff, who was the lead impeachment manager in Trump’s first impeachment trial, called on Biden to drop out, saying in a statement that he had “serious concerns” about the president’s ability to win a second term.
And Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who was a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol, stopped short of explicitly calling on Biden to step down, but urged the president to reconsider whether he should remain in the presidential race.
Biden remained at home in Delaware with no public events scheduled after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening.
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” early Friday, Biden campaign co-chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said the president remained “absolutely” in the race, even as a growing number of Democrats voiced unease about his ability to defeat Trump.
“Absolutely the president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and time again,” she said. “He is the best person to take on Donald Trump.”
But reports also surfaced Friday that Vice President Kamala Harris, a potential replacement for Biden if he takes the unprecedented step of withdrawing from a race less than four months from Election Day, was scheduled to speak by phone with top Democratic donors in the afternoon.
Harris did not respond to reporters’ questions at an appearance at a Washington ice cream shop Friday, according to a pool report.
And 10 more congressional Democrats, including more senior members than had previously broken ranks with the president, said Friday that Biden should step aside.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune.
Reps. Jared Huffman of California, Marc Veasey of Texas, Jesús “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin wrote a joint open letter to Biden that they posted on social media.
The quartet represents important constituencies in the House Democratic Caucus.
Veasey is the first member of the influential Congressional Black Caucus, which has been among Biden’s staunchest Democratic backers, to join the call for him to step down. He is also a member of the moderate New Democrat Coalition.
Pocan is the co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and a former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Garcia is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Reps. Greg Landsman of Ohio, Zoe Lofgren of California also released their own statements. Betty McCollum of Minnesota told the Star Tribune newspaper she wanted Biden step aside and allow Harris to lead the ticket with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, of Kentucky, posted a statement on X.
The calls came a day after Sen. Jon Tester, in a difficult reelection race in Montana, said in a statement to the Daily Montanan that Biden should withdraw.
Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who was one of few Democrats who called on Biden to step down two weeks ago, expanded on his view in an op-ed Friday.
Moulton wrote in the Boston Globe that when he went on a June trip to Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the president didn’t recognize him, despite their decade-long relationship.
“Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” Moulton wrote. “It was a crushing realization, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.”
New Jersey
New Jersey high school teacher faces charges for allegedly having sex with student
A New Jersey high school teacher faces charges for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a student, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Jesse Heubel, 37, of Englishtown teaches at Freehold Township High School.
Monmouth County prosecutors say Heubel has been charged in multiple municipalities, including Freehold Township, Englishtown, Manalpan Township and Red Bank, because those are the locations where the alleged sexual acts took place.
Heubel has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree sexual assault in each of the four municipalities.
Authorities said the alleged criminal conduct began back in November of 2025, and the victim is under 18 years old.
Heubel turned himself in.
Authorities ask anyone who may have additional information about Heubel’s alleged activities to call police at (732) 431-7160 or (732) 462-7908.
CBS News New York has reached out to Heubel’s defense attorney for comment.
New Jersey
NJ fines Sen. Wimberly $24K after use of donations for hotels, airfare
2-minute read
NJ fines Sen. Wimberly $24K after using donations on hotels, airfare
Wimberly has been fined about $24,000 by New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, partly for spending campaign funds on his own personal use.
PATERSON — In a three-month span at the end of 2022, state Sen. Benjie Wimberly, then an assemblyman, spent more than $7,200 in political donations on hotel bills, airfare and other travel expenses.
Now, Wimberly has been fined about $24,000 by New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, partly for spending campaign funds on his own personal use.
The ELEC complaint against Wimberly had been pending since December 2024, and a settlement between the state and the senator was reached at the end of May 2026. ELEC made details of the deal public on July 1.
“Senator Wimberly chose to settle the matter with ELEC because his priority is addressing the immediate and important needs of his district,” said his attorney, Angelo Genova, a prominent and well-connected lawyer in New Jersey political circles.
Story continues below photo gallery.
“As expressly stated in the Consent Order and Final Decision, Senator Wimberly and his treasurer neither admit nor deny the violations, and they maintain their good-faith belief that the disputed expenditures were permissible under the law,” Genova added.
Wimberly’s campaign treasurer, David Cozart, works as an assistant superintendent for Paterson Public Schools, with a $213,000 salary. Wimberly also works for the city school district as director of recreation, with a $194,000 salary.
The commission determined that 19 of Wimberly’s expenditures at the end of 2022, when he was still an Assembly member, were for impermissible uses. The order said $10,861 of the fine stemmed from Wimberly’s improper use of political funds. The rest of the penalty was for late filing of a finance report that covered October through December of 2022.
Among the expenditures highlighted by ELEC were:
- $645 to the Hilton Garden Inn Lodge Colonial on Oct. 11, 2022.
- $751 to the Embassy Suites Hampton on Oct. 25, 2022.
- $497 to the Landing at Hampton on Nov. 8, 2022.
- $322 to the Hilton Garden Inn on Dec. 6, 2022.
- $378 to the Omni Hotels on Dec. 14, 2022.
The ELEC complaint did not provide specific locations of those businesses.
Partial payment of $4,000 in April
The order said Wimberly and Cozart made a partial payment of $4,000 in April 2026. The election commission also reduced the penalty, lowering it to $15,335.
Going forward, Cozart and Wimberly would make four payments of $3,833.99 through April 2027, the order said.
Wimberly supporters noted that the original complaint filed against him came at the end of 2024, when he was still an Assembly member making a bid for the vacant New Jersey 35th District Senate seat left vacant when Nellie Pou went to Congress.
Wimberly sought the Senate seat even though several Passaic County Democratic party leaders were backing then-Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter for the Senate. After the initial tally ended in a tie, Wimberly won the internal party election by one vote over Sumter.
New Jersey
Heat wave to bring near 100 degree weather. When does NJ heat wave start
Governor Mikie Sherrill at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township after collapse
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill meets with first responders before a press conference at BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township.
Last week wasn’t a great one when it comes to weather at the Jersey Shore.
This one will be much better, at least if you like heat.
A heat wave will hit New Jersey this week with hot weather moving into the area on Tuesday. The warm temperatures will stick around for most of the week before we get a little relief by the end of the weekend.
The National Weather Service forecasts the heat wave to start July 14 with a sunny day with highs around 92 degrees. Wednesday is even hotter with temperatures expected to flirt with 100 degrees. Thursday stays hot with a high of 92 degrees forecasted, with Friday and Saturday also expected to see highs in the low 80s.
According to the NOAA, Wednesday the Jersey Shore area will be under an extreme heat watch.
Tuesday through Friday are expected to be sunny, with some clouds. Saturday is when showers roll in.
Sunday the heatwave is expected to break. Showers are also expected to stick around with a high of 84 degrees expected.
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