GOBLIN HOUSE
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GOBLIN HOUSE
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Area: Full Workup (one official, all sections) (eo_full_workup)
Filed: 2026-05-02T08:44:04.804Z
Source: External LLM via /handoff/congress (attempt #74746)
Resolved official: Josh Gottheimer (entity #11097)
Ingest result: 37 facts · 34 sources · 2 contradictions · 7 voting_records · 8 skipped
Single super-prompt covering every per-official research area in one LLM call: donor mapping, silences, contradictions, telling votes, and constituency baseline. The LLM returns ONE JSON object; the ingest pipeline dispatches each section to its typed table independently, so a malformed or no-data section never blocks the rest.
{
"target_official": {
"name": "Josh Gottheimer",
"bioguide_id": "G000583"
},
"donor_mapping": {
"facts": [
{
"fact_text": "Career total raised (2015-2024): $38,120,765 — among the highest in the House. Cash on hand exceeded $20.7M as of year-end 2024. Top contributing industry: Securities & Investment at $7,310,156, followed by Lawyers/Law Firms ($2,394,342), Real Estate ($2,077,332), Pro-Israel ($2,001,136), and Insurance ($1,448,690).",
"date_occurred": "2024-12-31",
"confidence": "secondary",
"source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00036944&cycle=CAREER"
},
{
"fact_text": "Top career contributor: American Israel Public Affairs Cmte (AIPAC) at $1,013,799 ($995,899 from individuals, $17,900 from PAC). In the 2024 cycle alone, AIPAC routed $789,211 through 687 payments. Other top contributors: Blackstone Group ($446,536), Apollo Global Management ($284,315), NorPAC ($261,474), and KKR & Co ($230,984).",
"date_occurred": "2024-12-31",
"confidence": "primary",
"source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?cycle=2024&vendor=Josh+Gottheimer+for+Congress"
},
{
"fact_text": "Track AIPAC data reported Gottheimer received $6.78 million (678万美元) in cumulative pro-Israel campaign contributions, making him one of the largest AIPAC-backed recipients in Congress.",
"date_occurred": "2026-02-17",
"confidence": "secondary",
"source_url": "https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20260318003439-260408?chdtv"
},
{
"fact_text": "Quiver Quantitative estimates Gottheimer's net worth at $42.2M-$52.8M as of mid-2025, placing him among the 25th-36th wealthiest members of Congress. Approximately $21-24.8M is invested in publicly traded assets. His wealth grew from approximately $11M in 2019 to over $50M by 2021 — a nearly 5x increase in two years.",
"date_occurred": "2025-07-04",
"confidence": "primary",
"source_url": "https://www.quiverquant.com/congresstrading/politician/Josh%20Gottheimer-G000583/net-worth"
},
{
"fact_text": "Gottheimer is a former Microsoft executive (General Manager of Advertising and Strategy) and former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. He co-founded the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in 2017 and served as its Co-Chair until taking a Vice-Chair role. He sits on the House Financial Services Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.",
"date_occurred": "2017-01-03",
"confidence": "primary",
"source_url": "https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/a-brief-electoral-history-of-josh-gottheimer/"
},
{
"fact_text": "Gottheimer traded up to $104M in defense contractor stocks in 2024 alone — more than any other member of Congress — through a third-party financial firm. Companies included Microsoft (which received $414M in Pentagon contracts in 2023), Northrop Grumman, and IBM. Five of the eight trades were Microsoft call options each valued up to $5M.",
"date_occurred": "2025-02-04",
"confidence": "primary",
"source_url": "https://njtoday.news/2025/02/04/greedy-gottheimer-grabs-gobs-of-government-linked-gains/"
},
{
"fact_text": "In November 2019, Gottheimer bought six deep-in-the-money call options on Microsoft stock while Microsoft was competing with Amazon for a $10 billion Pentagon JEDI cloud contract. He served on the Financial Services Committee, which oversees Microsoft. That year his net worth increased from $11.05M to $28.3M — the largest single-year relative increase of his career.",
"date_occurred": "2019-11-18",
"confidence": "primary",
"source_url": "https://www.wfmz.com/news/congressional-conflicts-like-pelosi-nj-rep-has-made-tens-of-millions-from-wall-street/article_bb4eea5d-9465-5a5a-a78c-e6a2cbc89a9f.html"
},
{
"fact_text": "Approximately 75% of Gottheimer's campaign cash comes from out of state, according to an NJTODAY analysis — raising $39M for his congressional and gubernatorial campaigns combined, disproportionately from Wall Street and pro-Israel donors.",
"date_occurred": "2025-05-31",
"confidence": "secondary",
"source_url": "https://njtoday.news/2025/05/31/3-4-of-jersey-guy-josh-gottheimers-campaign-cash-comes-from-out-of-state/"
}
],
"connections": [
{
"donor_entity_name": "American Israel Public Affairs Cmte",
"relationship_type": "major_donor",
"description": "2015-2024: $1,013,799 via individual ($995,899) and PAC ($17,900). In 2024 cycle alone, AIPAC routed $789,211 in 687 separate payments. Gottheimer is AIPAC's single largest Democratic recipient and has been called the 'unofficial leader' of AIPAC-aligned House Democrats.",
"confidence": "primary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "Blackstone Group",
"relationship_type": "major_donor",
"description": "2015-2024: $446,536 via individual contributions. Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager.",
"confidence": "secondary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "Apollo Global Management",
"relationship_type": "major_donor",
"description": "2015-2024: $284,315 via individual contributions. Apollo is a major private equity firm. Gottheimer's wife is a former Apollo employee.",
"confidence": "secondary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "NorPAC",
"relationship_type": "pac_donor",
"description": "2015-2024: $261,474 via individual contributions. NorPAC is a pro-Israel political action committee focused on the U.S.-Israel relationship.",
"confidence": "secondary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "Microsoft Corp",
"relationship_type": "former_employer_and_stock_holder",
"description": "Gottheimer previously served as General Manager of Advertising and Strategy at Microsoft. He holds millions in Microsoft stock and has traded up to $40M in Microsoft call options while serving on the House Financial Services Committee and Intelligence Committee — both with oversight relevance to Microsoft's business.",
"confidence": "primary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "JPMorgan Chase & Co",
"relationship_type": "pac_donor",
"description": "2024: $10,000 via PAC. JPMorgan is regulated by the Financial Services Committee on which Gottheimer sits.",
"confidence": "secondary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "Verizon Communications",
"relationship_type": "pac_donor",
"description": "2024: $10,000 via PAC.",
"confidence": "secondary"
},
{
"donor_entity_name": "National Assn of Broadcasters",
"relationship_type": "pac_donor",
"description": "2024: $12,450 via PAC. Gottheimer serves on committees with jurisdiction over communications policy.",
"confidence": "secondary"
}
]
},
"silences": {
"no_data": true,
"reason": "No falsifiable silence with the required active-on-adjacent evidence URL could be identified within the specified parameters for this official."
},
"contradictions": {
"claims": [
{
"claim_text": "Gottheimer campaigned for governor on an 'affordability agenda for Jersey,' calling himself a fighter for 'hardworking Jersey families' and pledging to lower taxes and costs. He built his political brand around middle-class tax relief and congestion pricing opposition.",
"claim_date": "2025-06-04",
"claim_type": "platform",
"source_url": "https://abc7ny.com/post/new-jersey-governor-candidate-josh-gottheimer-emphasizes-affordability/16413702/"
},
{
"claim_text": "Gottheimer's net worth is estimated at $42-52 million, making him one of the 25 wealthiest members of Congress. He traded up to $104M in defense contractor stocks in 2024 — more than any other member — and built his fortune through sophisticated options trading, including $40M in Microsoft call options while sitting on committees that oversee Microsoft's regulatory environment.",
"claim_date": "2025-02-04",
"claim_type": "disclosure",
"source_url": "https://njtoday.news/2025/02/04/greedy-gottheimer-grabs-gobs-of-government-linked-gains/"
},
{
"claim_text": "Gottheimer presents himself as a moderate, bipartisan deal-maker who co-founded the Problem Solvers Caucus and works 'across the aisle.' He has campaigned as a Democrat who can win over Republicans and independents.",
"claim_date": "2025-03-14",
"claim_type": "platform",
"source_url": "https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/a-brief-electoral-history-of-josh-gottheimer/"
},
{
"claim_text": "Gottheimer voted against his party majority 75 times in the 118th Congress (7.5%), ranking 144th in party defection — placing him among the top 30% of Democrats most willing to break ranks. Consumer advocacy group Allied Progress called him a 'Dem Majority Saboteur' who 'votes with Trump more than his own party.' He was one of only four NJ Democrats to support a GOP standalone Israel aid bill that President Biden threatened to veto.",
"claim_date": "2024-02-06",
"claim_type": "vote",
"source_url": "https://projects.propublica.org/represent/members/G000583-josh-gottheimer/votes-against-party/118"
},
{
"claim_text": "Gottheimer was accused of fabricating his Spotify Wrapped to make himself look like a Bruce Springsteen superfan during the 2024 campaign, posting an image that did not match Spotify's format. His office declined to comment. The incident was covered by the New York Times and cited as emblematic of broader authenticity concerns.",
"claim_date": "2024-12-11",
"claim_type": "statement",
"source_url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/us/politics/josh-gottheimer-spotify-wrapped.html"
}
],
"contradictions": [
{
"claim_a_idx": 0,
"claim_b_idx": 1,
"type": "statement_vs_disclosure",
"severity": "high",
"narrative": "Gottheimer campaigns as a populist champion of 'hardworking Jersey families' and affordability, yet he is one of the wealthiest members of Congress with a net worth exceeding $40M — largely built through aggressive Wall Street options trading while sitting on committees with jurisdiction over the same companies whose stock he trades. The 'Jersey Guy' brand is at odds with the reality that roughly 75% of his campaign cash and nearly all his wealth derives from out-of-state Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and pro-Israel donor networks."
},
{
"claim_a_idx": 2,
"claim_b_idx": 3,
"type": "platform_vs_vote",
"severity": "medium",
"narrative": "Gottheimer brands himself as a bipartisan moderate who can work with both parties, yet his voting record shows systematic defection toward GOP positions on Israel, financial regulation, and immigration — areas where his top donor interests (AIPAC, Wall Street) align with Republican priorities. Consumer groups labeled him a 'Dem Majority Saboteur,' and he led opposition to elements of Biden's Build Back Better agenda while receiving millions from the financial services industry his committee oversees."
}
]
},
"telling_votes": [
{
"bill_id": "H.R. 1",
"title": "One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) — House passage",
"vote": "nay",
"vote_date": "2025-05-22",
"roll_call_url": "https://gottheimer.house.gov/media/press-releases/release-gottheimer-slams-devastating-cuts-jersey-seniors-children-and-families",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer voted nay on the GOP reconciliation bill projected to add $3.4 trillion to deficits and cut approximately $1 trillion from Medicaid/SNAP. He held a press conference outside a local hospital, slamming 'devastating cuts to Jersey seniors, children, and families.' His district, while wealthy (median income $132K), has thousands of residents on Medicaid. Only 2 Republicans voted nay. The vote was both party-aligned and constituent-aligned, though notable for a moderate who often breaks with his party on fiscal matters: his Wall Street donor base ($7.3M from Securities & Investment) benefited from the bill's tax provisions, yet he opposed it.",
"category": "constituent_aligned"
},
{
"bill_id": "S. 5",
"title": "Laken Riley Act",
"vote": "yea",
"vote_date": "2025-01-22",
"roll_call_url": "https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/gottheimer-goes-solo-on-laken-riley-act/",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer was absent for the initial House vote on January 7 but entered a statement into the Congressional Record saying he would have voted yea. He then voted yea on the Senate-amended version on January 22, making him one of 46 House Democrats to support mandatory ICE detention for undocumented immigrants accused of nonviolent crimes. The vote was a party defection that drew sharp criticism from NJ immigration advocates. He and Mikie Sherrill (who voted nay) represent the intra-Democratic divide: Gottheimer took the moderate/hardline position and Sherrill the progressive one. His district is 26.4% foreign-born — the highest of any NJ district represented by a Democrat.",
"category": "party_defection"
},
{
"bill_id": "H.R. 7217",
"title": "Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (Standalone GOP bill, February 2024)",
"vote": "yea",
"vote_date": "2024-02-06",
"roll_call_url": "https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/n-j-house-dems-split-on-unsuccessful-israel-aid-bill/",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer was one of only four NJ House Democrats to support the GOP standalone $17.6 billion Israel aid bill — legislation that President Biden threatened to veto because it excluded Ukraine and humanitarian aid. He was the only NJ Democrat to vote for a similar November 2023 bill that offset Israel aid with IRS funding cuts. His top career donor AIPAC ($1M+) strongly supported both bills. Approximately four-fifths of the Democratic caucus voted nay on the February bill. This is one of the clearest donor-aligned votes in the House.",
"category": "donor_aligned"
},
{
"bill_id": "H.R. 8034",
"title": "National Security Supplemental (Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan aid package)",
"vote": "yea",
"vote_date": "2024-04-20",
"roll_call_url": "https://gottheimer.house.gov/media/press-releases/release-gottheimer-moskowitz-statement-aid-package-israel-ukraine-and-taiwan",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer helped lead the push for the $95 billion foreign aid package, co-authoring a bipartisan letter with Rep. Jared Moskowitz urging Speaker Johnson to bring the Senate-passed bill to the floor. His leadership on this bipartisan foreign aid effort reflects both his Problem Solvers Caucus institutionalist instincts and the centrality of the U.S.-Israel relationship to his political identity. AIPAC supported the package. All 213 Democrats voted yea.",
"category": "constituent_aligned"
},
{
"bill_id": "H.R. 5376",
"title": "Build Back Better Act (2021) — SALT deduction cap opposition",
"vote": "nay",
"vote_date": "2021-11-19",
"roll_call_url": "https://www.insidernj.com/consumer-group-allied-progress-blasts-gottheimer-as-dem-majority-saboteur/",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer led a group of moderate Democrats who threatened to vote against the Build Back Better Act unless the SALT deduction cap was raised — a tax provision disproportionately benefiting high-income households in high-tax states like NJ. His district has a median household income of $132K, the highest of any NJ district. The SALT cap fight embodied his core political brand: fighting for NJ taxpayers but also fighting for the affluent suburbanites who form his donor and voter base. The vote illustrates donor-constituent alignment against party leadership.",
"category": "cross_pressure"
},
{
"bill_id": "H.Res. 189",
"title": "Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas",
"vote": "nay",
"vote_date": "2025-03-06",
"roll_call_url": "https://www.theroot.com/the-house-voted-to-censure-rep-al-green-and-these-10-dem-1851768931",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer voted with the overwhelming Democratic majority against censuring Rep. Al Green for disrupting Trump's address to Congress. Only 10 Democrats voted yea. The vote reflects his positioning: while he breaks with Democrats on Israel and financial regulation, on high-profile partisan discipline votes he remains with his party.",
"category": "party_defection"
},
{
"bill_id": "H.R. 29",
"title": "Laken Riley Act — Initial House Vote (January 7, 2025)",
"vote": "abstain",
"vote_date": "2025-01-07",
"roll_call_url": "https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5072320-these-democrats-flipped-their-votes-on-the-laken-riley-act/",
"why_it_matters": "Gottheimer was absent for the initial Laken Riley Act vote — the first bill of the new Congress — along with fellow gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill. Both drew fire from opponents who accused them of skipping a controversial vote to avoid taking a position during their primary campaigns. Gottheimer subsequently entered a statement saying he would have voted yea, then voted yea on the amended version. The abstention illustrates the tension between his moderate House voting record and a gubernatorial primary where Democratic voters expected progressive immigration stances.",
"category": "cross_pressure"
}
],
"constituency_baseline": {
"baseline": {
"district_summary": "New Jersey's 5th Congressional District stretches across the entire northern border of the state, encompassing most of Bergen County as well as parts of Passaic, Sussex, and Warren counties. Home to approximately 778,374 constituents, the district is among the wealthiest and most highly educated in the nation, with a median household income of $132,937 — over three times the national median of $37,585. The population is 59.7% White (non-Hispanic), 17.4% Hispanic, and 16.4% Asian, with a median age of 43.3. The poverty rate is a strikingly low 4.1-5.7% (depending on source), homeownership is 73.4%, and 55.0% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher — the highest educational attainment in New Jersey. 26.4% of residents are foreign-born (205,000 people), among the highest of any NJ district, and 34.2% of households speak a non-English language at home. The economy is anchored in financial services, healthcare, professional services, and retail, with a heavy concentration of Wall Street commuters. Major employers include Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, Valley Health System, and Hackensack Meridian Health. The district has a Cook PVI of D+12 and has trended Democratic in recent cycles; Gottheimer flipped the seat from seven-term Republican Scott Garrett in 2016 and won re-election in 2024 with over 55% of the vote.",
"top_employers": [
{
"name": "Hackensack Meridian Health",
"employees": 15000,
"source_url": "https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/about"
},
{
"name": "Valley Health System (Paramus/Ridgewood)",
"employees": 6000,
"source_url": "https://www.valleyhealth.com/about"
},
{
"name": "Bergen New Bridge Medical Center",
"employees": 3000,
"source_url": "https://www.newbridgehealth.org"
}
],
"dominant_industries": [
{
"naics": "52",
"share": 0.16,
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"naics": "62",
"share": 0.14,
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"naics": "54",
"share": 0.12,
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
}
],
"recent_ballot_measures": [
{
"name": "New Jersey Public Question 1 — Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment (2023)",
"year": 2023,
"result": "passed",
"margin": "62%-38%",
"source_url": "https://www.elections.ny.gov/2023StatewideGeneralElection.html"
}
],
"demographic_anchors": [
{
"label": "median household income",
"value": "$132,937",
"source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/josh-gottheimer-G000583/district"
},
{
"label": "poverty rate",
"value": "4.1% (LegisLetter) / 5.66% (Data USA 2024)",
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"label": "homeownership rate",
"value": "73.4%",
"source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/josh-gottheimer-G000583/district"
},
{
"label": "bachelor's degree or higher",
"value": "55.0% (highest in NJ)",
"source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/josh-gottheimer-G000583/district"
},
{
"label": "foreign-born population share",
"value": "26.4% (205,000 people)",
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"label": "Hispanic population share",
"value": "17.4% (136,000 people)",
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"label": "Asian population share",
"value": "16.4% (127,000 people, largest subgroup Korean)",
"source_url": "https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-5-nj"
},
{
"label": "median age",
"value": "43.3",
"source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/josh-gottheimer-G000583/district"
},
{
"label": "Cook Partisan Voting Index",
"value": "D+12",
"source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/josh-gottheimer-G000583/district"
}
]
}
}
}