The NJ Assembly Speaker’s home county is raking in the dough, at your expense.
How 9% of New Jersey got 17% of the financial favors from the state legislature
New Jersey’s FY2026 budget contains 123 named local spending items — money appropriated not by formula, not by an application for funds, but because legislators simply name a town or a county in their district to get money. These gifts are often referred to as Christmas Tree items. Together they total $147,640,000 in the FY 2026 state budget.
One county, however, took in $24,975,000 in Christmas Tree items – broken down across 23 separate line items that no one seemed to question. That county is Middlesex County, home of Assembly Speaker Craig Caughlin.
Middlesex County is home to 9.3% of New Jersey’s population. Yet it received 16.9% of the legislatures earmarked dollars — roughly 1.8 times what an even distribution would produce. The county is represented by 12 state legislators… all Democrats.
The Middlesex Democratic Party machine is operated by Democrat County Chair Kevin McCabe — one of the most powerful un-elected politicians in the state. McCabe has run the Middlesex Democratic machine since 2013. He is a partner at a lobbying firm — River Crossing Strategy Group. He is also is a member of the Board of Commissioners for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey first appointed to the PA in 2017, by former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. – a Republican.
| Line item | Amount |
| County of Middlesex — Parks and Recreation Youth Sports Infrastructure | $9,000,000 |
| Township of Woodbridge Capital Improvements | $4,000,000 |
| Township of East Brunswick — Water Main Improvements | $1,500,000 |
| Township of Edison — Stelton Community Center Rehabilitation | $1,250,000 |
| Borough of Metuchen — George Olmezer Park Improvements | $1,000,000 |
| Borough of Milltown — Lead Service Line Replacement | $1,000,000 |
| Borough of South River — Water Main Replacement | $1,000,000 |
| City of Perth Amboy Fire Department — Substation Land Acquisition | $1,000,000 |
| Borough of Highland Park — South Third Ave Water and Sewer Upgrades | $750,000 |
| Borough of Carteret — Capital Improvements | $550,000 |
| Borough of Sayreville — Record Digitization Project | $500,000 |
| Sayreville Borough — Park Improvements | $500,000 |
| City of South Amboy — 5th Street Park Improvements | $500,000 |
| Township of South Brunswick — Reichler Park ADA Improvements | $430,000 |
| Township of Edison — Edison Light Transit | $400,000 |
| City of Perth Amboy — Borinqueneer Park Improvements | $350,000 |
| Borough of Highland Park — Molimock-Graff Park Improvements | $250,000 |
| Borough of Highland Park Capital | $250,000 |
| Township of Plainsboro — Morris Davison Park Improvements | $250,000 |
| Borough of Metuchen Public Library — Capital Improvements | $200,000 |
| Township of South Brunswick — Grange Building Capital Improvements | $115,000 |
| Borough of Jamesburg — Police Department Capital Improvements | $100,000 |
| Township of Cranbury — Town Hall and Senior Center Improvements | $80,000 |
| Total — 23 items | $24,975,000 |
