In a Democratic Party that has lost its grip on the working class — long its base of support and wellspring of its values — Brian Varela is offering a way back home.

Varela, a small business owner and New Jersey political activist vying for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, is leaning in to his working-class Colombian roots, suggesting that the Democrats need candidates, like him, who are better connected to the middle-class voters in his district.

“I think that one of the things that the national Democrats really messed up on last year was not understanding what the working-class voter was going through,” said Varela, both of whose immigrant parents worked blue-collar jobs. “And that’s why, while national Democrats were talking about how great the economy was, working-class voters did not understand. I understood that because I’ve lived it. And I think that being able to have that background that is very much aligned with a lot of the people in the district puts you in a unique position, not just to understand them, to represent them.” 

With that moderate pitch as a first-generation American who has made good, Varela, 36, has firmly established himself as a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District with his recent announcement of a $700,000 fundraising haul in his first three months in the race.

Varela, who self-funded around half of that total, is one of several Democrats, including former Biden administration official Michael Roth, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett and local Democratic official Greg Vartan, aiming to defeat Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ), in a district Kean won by five points in 2024.

Varela has been active for years in various capacities in New Jersey politics: He started as a press intern for Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2010, later running as a Democratic candidate opposing the party machine against now-Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and subsequently leading the New Jersey chapter of the Forward Party, the centrist third party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

“I consider myself more of a moderate,” Varela told Jewish Insider in an interview. “I do believe that we do need to be tight around budgets, and we can’t just go and haphazardly be cutting programs, but we do need to understand that we cannot allow the deficit to continue increasing. But at the same time, I think that there are some great programs that may seem like social programs, but are actually more programs that are going to help us grow our economy.”

He said he also supports “economic populist” programs like growing the middle class through universal childcare, and investing in research and development, infrastructure and education — particularly in skilled trade programs in high schools and trade schools.

He said his life story and the hardships he faced growing up separate him from the Democratic field — as well as from Kean, whose father was the governor of New Jersey and whose grandfather also served in Congress — and align him with the voters in the district, adding that Democrats need candidates who are better connected to the working class.

Varela said that Israel has been a “strong ally for us, and I think it’s important to make sure that we are there for Israel, that we help Israel with their ability to defend themselves.”

He said he supports continued U.S. aid to Israel, as well as aid to Gaza, and supports a two-state solution in the long term. He said that bringing the conflict in Gaza to a close will require “root[ing] out Hamas entirely,” ending attacks from both sides and bringing “all shareholders to the table” including the United States, the United Nations and surrounding countries.

Varela said he did not have sufficient information to weigh in on the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran, but said that it’s “absolutely critical” that Tehran not obtain a nuclear weapon and that he would support renewed diplomatic efforts floated by the Trump administration.

To address rising antisemitic attacks and other incidents at home, Varela said that the U.S. needs to step up hate crimes enforcement, specifically voicing support for legislation raising the penalties for such activity.

“As a society, as an American culture, any hate crime performed is ultimately destroying our fabric, destroying the future of our country, and we need to be unequivocally and unapologetically at the front lines of combating this kind of hate,” Varela said.

Varela said he entered the race because “I think we need a fighter, and I’ve been a fighter my whole life,” from working full-time to cover his schooling costs to supporting his family when his mother got sick, struggling with financial difficulties, raising his younger brother and building a childcare business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But we navigated that and fast forward to now, we built the business with over 100 employees,” Varela said, adding that his company has been recognized locally and nationally for its growth.

He added that he thinks that Congress needs more leaders from different backgrounds and more “humble beginnings,” and said, “I can bring a serious diversity of perspective to representation, and not just the Congress, to our party as a whole.”

He said that Kean is “disconnected … from his voters” and doesn’t understand the impacts of legislation cutting assistance programs like the recently passed budget reconciliation bill.

Varela’s fundraising places him second in the Democratic primary, behind Bennett, who has raised $914,000 total, and ahead of Roth, who has raised $303,000 total and Vartan, who has raised $157,000.

Bennett closed the quarter with $672,000 on hand, Varela with $622,000, Roth with $225,000 and Vartan with $79,000.