Michael Rufo
Michael Rufo (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey's 4th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Biography
Rufo attended Rider University from 2003 to 2004 and Ocean County College from 2004 to 2005. His professional experience includes working as an automotive sales manager.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2020
New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)
New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Stephanie Schmid, Hank Schroeder, Michael Rufo, and Andrew Pachuta in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris Smith (R) | 59.9 | 254,103 |
 | Stephanie Schmid (D)  | 38.3 | 162,420 | |
 | Hank Schroeder (Make Change Happen Party) | 0.8 | 3,195 | |
 | Michael Rufo (L) | 0.6 | 2,583 | |
 | Andrew Pachuta (Common Sense Party) | 0.5 | 2,067 | |
| Total votes: 424,368 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
Stephanie Schmid defeated Christine Conforti and David Applefield in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on July 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephanie Schmid | 67.4 | 38,444 |
 | Christine Conforti | 25.1 | 14,331 | |
 | David Applefield | 7.4 | 4,244 | |
| Total votes: 57,019 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jim Keady (D)
- Tiffany Kaszuba (D)
- Hassan Shehadeh (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Alter Eliezer Richter in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on July 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Smith | 94.8 | 51,636 |
 | Alter Eliezer Richter | 5.2 | 2,853 | |
| Total votes: 54,489 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Smith (R) | 55.4 | 163,065 |
 | Josh Welle (D) | 43.1 | 126,766 | |
| Michael Rufo (L) | 0.5 | 1,387 | |
 | Edward Stackhouse Jr. (Ed the Barber Party) | 0.4 | 1,064 | |
 | Brian Reynolds (Check This Column Party) | 0.3 | 851 | |
 | Felicia Stoler (The Inclusion Candidate Party) | 0.3 | 844 | |
| Allen Yusufov (Time for Change Party) | 0.1 | 371 | |
| Total votes: 294,348 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
Josh Welle defeated Jim Keady in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Josh Welle | 57.1 | 16,905 |
 | Jim Keady | 42.9 | 12,682 | |
| Total votes: 29,587 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mike Keeling (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4
Incumbent Chris Smith advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Smith | 100.0 | 25,930 |
| Total votes: 25,930 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Rufo did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Michael Rufo participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on July 11, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Michael Rufo's responses follow below.[2]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Reduce wasteful spending. Increase Civil Liberties. Eliminate redundancies created by bureaucracy.[3][4] |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | The right to bear arms and Individual liberty are most important to me.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[4]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Michael Rufo answered the following:
Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow and why?
| “ | Rand Paul, Thomas Massie and Justin Amash are the Publicity servants I look up to most. Their ability to consider unforeseen consequences and how law may impead Liberty show a concern for the individual. Their concern for the size of government and keeping it within the guidelines of the constitution are admirable.[4] | ” |
| “ | The most important characteristic of a public official is empathy, followed by humbleness. One must understand the struggles of their neighbor while recognizing their own flaws to truly be able to have an affect.[4] | ” |
| “ | My drive, determination and grit will help me stay headstrong and focused on preventing the growth of government while still maintaining a path of helpful policy that lifts up those in need it without impending the liberty of others.[4] | ” |
| “ | The core responsibility of those elected to office is representation of the will of their constituents while carefully balancing the liberty of all.[4] | ” |
| “ | I wish to leave a legacy of freedom and prosperity through empowerment of the individual as intended by our founding fathers.[4] | ” |
| “ | The First Gulf war is my first remembered historical event. I was 5 years old.[4] | ” |
| “ | The first job I held was at Six Flgs Great adventure at 15. I worked there each of the next 4 summers.[4] | ” |
| “ | Checking the power of both the President and the Supreme Court to creat a balance of power that reduces the chances of tyranny is unique to the House and the gold standard for the world.[4] | ” |
| “ | No. I believe that to represent the people you must be one of them. The problem with experienced candidates is how entrenched they are in the “politics” of office. This entrenchment detaches them from the everyday person and clouds their judgment. We need more common people to step up and lead the charge of the people.[4] | ” |
| “ | He greatest challenge to the United States in the next decade is maintaining our founding tradition of self governance. We must keep the power in the hands of the individuals and out of the hands of the government.[4] | ” |
| “ | I would want to be part of any committees that deal with veteran affairs, gun rights, criminal justice reform and mental health awareness.[4] | ” |
| “ | I think it is a little short for it only provides about 18 months for accomplishments before you have to focus on campaigning. I believe staggered 4 year terms would be more effective.[4] | ” |
| “ | I support term limits whole heartedly. No one person should be at the helm for 38+ years. We need new ideas to love society forward. The maxim length for a representative should be 12 total years.[4] | ” |
| “ | I believe a non-biased Private 3 Party should analyze the population of each district and determine their boindries. No political party should be involved in the process.[4] | ” |
Ballotpedia biographical submission form
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
I am a Classical Liberal/Libertarian. I hope to reduce the redundancy and overreach of the federal government while protecting the liberties of the individual. I chose to run for office because the continual force of government, over spending and lack of concern for the average American must come to an end. It is only the average Americans that can get involved and make that change. The entrenched politicians are too tied to their donors and worried about job security.[4] |
” |
| —Michael Rufo[1] | ||
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on July 3, 2018.
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Michael Rufo's responses," July 11, 2018
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
