2006 New Jersey's 5th congressional district election


On November 7, 2006 held its regular election for the United States House of Representatives. Republican incumbent Scott Garrett defeated Democratic nominee Paul Aronsohn with 55% to 44% of the vote. CQPolitics assessed the district as Republican favored.

Paul Aronsohn

Paul Aronsohn was the Democratic Party nominee. Aronsohn was 40 years old and lived in Ridgewood at the time of the election. He was a former staffer in the Clinton Administration and in the administration of former Governor of New Jersey Jim McGreevey. He worked on foreign policy and national security issues in Clinton's State Department and worked as Communications Director and Spokesman for former governor McGreevey for one year. Aronsohn resigned his position as a public affairs executive for Pfizer to focus on his campaign. Aronsohn is a graduate of George Washington University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Communication and a Master of Arts in Political Science. During school, he was a congressional intern for former Democratic Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey and Senator Charles Robb of Virginia. Aronsohn also served three American ambassadors to the United Nations: Madeleine Albright, Bill Richardson, and Richard Holbrooke.
On September 22, 2006, Aronsohn appeared on The Colbert Report as part of the program's Better Know a District segment, after Garrett declined to appear.