First term Cape May City Councilman David Kurkowski has confirmed his intention to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo for the 2nd District Congressional seat this year.
Kurkowski had been interested in running, but held off until state Sen. Jeff Van Drew announced his decision not to run on April 1. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had courted Van Drew as a challenger to LoBiondo, who has strongly won each of his seven elections since he first took the seat in 1994.
Interviewed Wednesday, April 2, Kurkowski said he had waited for Van Drew’s decision, but added that he was not troubled by the time Van Drew took to make up his mind. Van Drew had promised a decision early this year,  but delayed making an announcement until Tuesday.
 Kurkowski said he is committed to not only running, but also to winning the seat.
He also acknowledged that it is a big step from City Hall to Washington.
“It is a big jump. I was waiting for Sen. Van Drew to make his decision. When no other candidate emerged, I didn’t want the seat to go unchallenged,” he said.
Kurkowski owns Kurkowski Market Research, and has a Ph. D. in political science from Temple. He spent 13 years as a high school teacher in Ambler, Pa. He and his wife moved to Cape May in 2002.