SOMERS POINT — Craig Callaway, a political operative recently charged with vote-by-mail fraud, spoke Saturday morning at the annual fundraiser for the nonprofit organization Liberty and Prosperity held at Josie Kelly’s Public House on Shore Road.
Callaway’s public appearance came on the heels of his arrest earlier this month, when he was charged with fraud related to his handling of mail-in ballots in the 2022 general election.
“I feel very, very comfortable in this environment because I know a lot of you probably did not like my politics (in the past), as I made losers into winners,” the get-out-the-vote expert told the room of about 60 people.
Callaway was thanked many times Saturday for his 25-minute speech, which focused on getting back to the fundamentals of elections as candidates and better understanding the landscape today as voters.
People are also reading…
Liberty and Prosperity Executive Director Seth Grossman, who invited Callaway to speak Saturday, was a supporter of President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Grossman said many Trump supporters didn’t understand how Trump could be ahead after the polls closed in swing states yet lose after all mail-in-ballots were counted.
Grossman said blaming Trump’s lost election on mail-in ballots was “a cheap excuse,” supporting Callaway’s message of being more proactive and doing a better job of navigating the landscape the way it is today with early voting, mail-in ballots and one-day public voting.
“I think the Republicans made a big mistake by demonizing mail-in ballots because what I believe Craig was really talking about is the need for Republicans to return to cultivating personal relationships (with voters) and making friends,” said Grossman, 74, a lawyer who lives in Atlantic City. He is former city councilman and former Republican candidate for state Senate and U.S. Congress.
“Whether the people vote in person or by mail is not as important as having a relationship with your voters,” he continued. “Too many Republicans got seduced by high-priced consultants who would do these expensive media campaigns while the Democrats were systematically going house to house and person to person, not just on election day, but months before.”
Callaway acknowledged after his speech how grateful he was to have this conversation with members of the organization, especially in the wake of his legal woes.
Callaway is accused of paying Atlantic City residents $30 to $50 per person to act as vote-by-mail “messengers,” going in to the Atlantic County Clerk’s office with paperwork filled out by voters and collecting mail-in ballots, according to federal charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Under state law, the messengers are supposed to take the ballots back to individual voters, but the U.S. attorney alleges the messengers gave hundreds of the ballots to Callaway to handle himself. And the charges include allegations from four “purported voters” who say they did not vote but that ballots were put in with their names.
Callaway told the crowd he wasn’t going to get too deep into the vote-by-mail system Saturday because he was advised not to by his lawyers due to his pending case.
Following Callaway’s arrest, Superior Court Assignment Judge Michael Blee said he would reopen a 2023 city ward election challenge case that involves allegations of wrongdoing by Callaway, alleging he had a hand in Democratic candidate Viana Bailey losing by just six votes to incumbent Democratic Councilwoman La’Toya Dunston.
That hearing, separate from the charges Callaway is facing, is set for March 7. Callaway, who has avoided being served a subpoena in the Bailey-Dunston case, said Saturday he does not plan to attend next month.
“I don’t know why they’re trying to connect me with La’Toya Dunston,” said Callaway, who has been a political operative for more than 40 years. “Because from what I understand and hearing, everyone voted for who they wanted to vote for. I understand the politics in (Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr.) wanting to drag me into it and make it about me ... when the people who came out to vote made it loud and clear that they voted for who they wanted to vote for.”
Callaway spent most of his career mostly supporting Democratic candidates until that shifted in 2021. He told the crowd Saturday that he will never be a Democrat again, specifically stating “the real Democrat party ... is not a friend to the African American community, the minority community.” He called the Democratic party “self-serving” and “hypocritical.”
“My epiphany was when (Democrats) tried to destroy me and my family because we became independent,” said Callaway, who worked for U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, in his 2020 reelection bid. “(Working independently is) what started it. They wanted me and (my family) to be loyal to the Democrats, when the Democrats weren’t loyal to us.”
Atlantic City 6th Ward Councilman Jesse Kurtz, a Republican, agreed with several points Callaway made Saturday, especially the need for Republican candidates to be more proactive in getting to know voters. He feels a lack of those personal relationships is what made it easier for younger, inexperienced voters to be swayed in voting for what’s more socially acceptable.
“In our area, I can’t think of anyone who has been more involved in the various high-profile elections in the last couple decades than Craig Callaway,” Kurtz said. “This was a first getting to hear him in a relaxed atmosphere just sharing some of the nuts and bolts when it comes to the political tactics used today. I thought he was very gracious to everybody here in the audience.”
Alan Rhoads, 34, of Linwood, said Callaway’s message was “pure,” especially the importance of starting with family first and educating those closest about voting.
“It was a message people of all political persuasions should resonate with,” Rhoads said.
“I think Craig’s message was, get back to the fundamentals, get back to the foundational skills of politics, which is talk to your family, make sure your brothers and sisters are registered. ... If you look at the data, there are far more people who sit out of elections than those who participate in them. The numbers support his message today.”
Welcome to the discussion.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.