Jefferson H. Van Drew (born February 23, 1953) is an American politician and dentist serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 2nd congressional district since 2019. Formerly a Democrat, he has been a member of the Republican Party since 2020. Before being elected to Congress, Van Drew held several public offices, including fire commissioner, town committee member, mayor of Dennis Township, New Jersey, and Cape May County freeholder. He represented New Jersey's 1st legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2008, and represented the same district in the New Jersey Senate from 2008 to 2018. Van Drew was the Democratic nominee in New Jersey's 2nd congressional district in the 2018 election. He was elected with 52.9% of the vote to Republican Seth Grossman's 45.2%. After opposing the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Van Drew joined the Republican Party shortly afterward. He was reelected in 2020, defeating Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy. Van Drew later supported the unsuccessful attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. Early life, education and career Van Drew was born in New York City. He graduated with a B.S. from Rutgers University and received a D.M.D. degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Van Drew operated a dental practice in South Jersey for 30 years before retiring. Early political career Van Drew served on the Dennis Township Committee in 1991, and as mayor from 1994 to 1995 and from 1997 to 2003. He served on the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1994 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2002. He was a Dennis Township Fire Commissioner from 1983 to 1986. In 1994, as a Cape May County Freeholder, Van Drew made support for a local community college a major campaign issue. In 2002, ground was broken on the site of the future Atlantic Cape Community College campus in Cape May County. Van Drew was a member of the Democratic Party while a local officeholder. New Jersey Legislature Van Drew represented the 1st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2008. He represented the same district in the New Jersey Senate from 2008 to 2018. He was a Democrat during this period. On November 6, 2007, Van Drew was elected to the New Jersey Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Nicholas Asselta. In November 2011, Van Drew defeated Republican challenger David S. DeWeese, 24,557 votes to 20,857. He was