By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
EDISON — Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has a new state headquarters in the Democrat-dominated township.
Trump campaign officials opened the Park Avenue location last week with a gala celebration. Township Republican Chairwoman Sylvia Engel said Trump’s choice of Edison was carried out without contact with local party officials.
“I was as surprised as anyone else that it was in Edison,” she said, adding a potential reason the township was chosen was its central location in the state and its proximity to mass transportation and major highways.
Engel said she attended the May 3 event, which was so crowded that she wasn’t able to move much. It brought in more than 1,000 people, even though Trump did not make an appearance. However, a few state Republicans addressed attendees, endorsing the candidate.
“It was very exciting,” Engel said, adding that the crowd watched the results of the Indiana primary, which Trump won, on the screens. That was also the same night Trump’s primary competitor, Sen. Ted Cruz, officially withdrew from the presidential race. She said the event was a positive one and free of protesters.
Engel said she thinks it’s the challenges of the economy that are driving Trump’s popularity, adding, “There were a lot of young men there.” According to numerous reports, the recession impacted that demographic much harder than others in terms of job loss.
Wayne Mascola, a former councilman who last year switched parties to join the GOP, said he found out about two weeks ahead of the opening but was unable to attend the opening.
Mascola pointed out that if Trump visits the local headquarters, it won’t be the real estate developer’s first time in Edison in recent memory. Trump made a highly publicized appearance at The Barclays golf tournament that was played at the Plainfield Country Club last summer. That visit caused quite a stir in local politics, as both Democratic organization chairman Keith Hahn and Mayor Thomas Lankey posed for pictures with Trump during his visit.
Engel said she’s definitely looking to maximize the impact of having Trump’s headquarters in Edison, and is reaching out to local Trump supporters who attended the event to see if they’d be interested in joining the Republicans at the township level as well. There are no local elections in Edison this year, but it could prime the pump for the future. The Township Council is comprised completely of Democrats and has been for years.
Mascola has some political predictions as well: He’s hoping that Trump wins the presidency and takes Gov. Chris Christie, who has been making numerous campaign stops with Trump, to Washington with him. That would leave Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno to “shine on her own,” he said, adding that he believes Christie hasn’t done much to lay the groundwork for her to be his successor.
Trump will be in New Jersey on May 19 for a fundraiser in Lawrenceville.