Josh Gottheimer ran for the House of Representatives in New Jersey's 5th congressional district, a seat held by Republican Scott Garrett, in the 2016 elections. After Garrett said that the National Republican Congressional Committee should not support gay candidates, Gottheimer began raising funds for his challenge with the help of Clinton allies and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Ben Ray Luján.
Gottheimer attracted more attention than previous challengers to Garrett due to his fundraising ability and ties to the Clintons. His campaign's 2015 financial filings, in which Gottheimer reported raising around $1 million through the end of September, showed that "about one dollar in six came directly from fellow alumni of the Clinton White House and campaigns...or from major donors and employees of consulting firms tied closely to the Clintons."
Gottheimer defeated Garrett, and was sworn in January 2017. He is the first Democrat to represent what is now the 5th since 1981 (most of this district was the 7th District prior to the 1980 Census). He is the Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.