--- title: New Jersey Congressman Faces Boisterous Town Hall description: Rep. Leonard Lance faced protesters in New Jersey in one of many boisterous confrontations between citizens and GOP lawmakers this week. canonical: https://time.com/4679875/new-jersey-gop-congressman-leonard-lance/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T07:04:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:02.861Z article:section: Politics og:title: New Jersey Congressman Latest to Face Boisterous Town Hall og:description: Similar scenes are playing out across several states, with more to come og:url: https://time.com/4679875/new-jersey-gop-congressman-leonard-lance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2868c1172b0e2f4e/6988bbab86f68e14cd6e39fc/dina-litovksy-raritan-university-town-hall_05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: dina-litovksy-raritan-university-town-hall_05 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Jersey Congressman Latest to Face Boisterous Town Hall twitter:description: Similar scenes are playing out across several states, with more to come twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2868c1172b0e2f4e/6988bbab86f68e14cd6e39fc/dina-litovksy-raritan-university-town-hall_05.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New Jersey Congressman Leonard Lance Is the Latest GOP Lawmaker to Face a Boisterous Town Hall > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac2ca985-114d-4576-89a8-405b5a73f756&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Feb 23, 2017 7:04 AM UTC  Angry constituents hold signs at a town hall at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ., Feb. 22, 2017 Angry constituents hold signs at a town hall at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ., Feb. 22, 2017 Dina Litovsky—Redux for TIME  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Feb 23, 2017 7:04 AM UTC Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) faced angry protesters and frustrated constituents at a town hall meeting in his New Jersey district Wednesday, in one of many boisterous confrontations between citizens and their representatives this week. Lance met with constituents at the Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ Wednesday night during the Congressional recess. The turnout was so big that some constituents were sent to an overflow room and others stood outside, waving signs saying things like “Hold your britches Lance, you’re going to lose your seat.” When asked whether any of them were “paid protesters,” as some Republicans have alleged, at least one demonstrator laughed in this reporter’s face.  Angry constituents hold signs at a town hall with New Jersey Republican Congressman Leonard Lance at Raritan Community College in Branchburg, Va. Feb. 22, 2017. Dina Litovsky—Redux for TIME This week has been an [eventful one for many members of Congress ](http://time.com/4678389/republican-congress-donald-trump-town-hall-protests/)returning home to their districts. Constituents have confronted their representatives and Senators in Utah, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Arkansas so far, and more confrontations are coming. Constituents asked questions about health care reform, the environment, de-funding Planned Parenthood and President Trump’s alleged connections to Russia.  Angry constituents hold signs at a town hall with New Jersey Republican Congressman Leonard Lance at Raritan Community College in Branchburg, Va. Feb. 22, 2017. Dina Litovsky—Redux for TIME When confronted with questions about whether he would support investigations into the alleged connections between Trump and Russia, Lance said he would “do what is in the national interest based on what’s presented to me.” Several voices in the crowd shouted back, “which is what?” When one constituent stood up and asked Lance to choose his country over his party, the crowd erupted in cheers and waving signs. Ed Marceski, 61, came to his first-ever town hall meeting to confront Lance on whether he would protect government oversight regulations to prevent another financial crisis, and whether he would support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “This is a blue state, not a red state,” Marceski said. “He has to do what his constituents want, not what his party wants.”  Angry constituents ask questions at a town hall with U.S. Congressman Leonard Lance (R-NJ 7) at Raritan Community College in Branchburg, N.J., Feb. 22, 2017. Dina Litovsky—Redux for TIME For Jim Girvan, 64, his first foray into town-hall activism was motivated by a sense that he had “never felt that our country has been in such distress.” Girvan, a retired government employee, scoffed at the idea that any of the protesters had been cajoled into showing up. “We are neither paid nor bussed,” he said. “That’s nonsense. 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