Garrett's background in financial issues and his voting record won him a coveted role at CPAC.
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, who faces a well-financed opponent in his congressional district, joined like-minded conservatives here Thursday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
The CPAC gathering draws activists from around the country to listen to a who's who of prominent Republican and conservative leaders, including all of the presidential candidates. Gov. Chris Christie spoke a year ago; businessman Donald Trump makes a return engagement on Saturday.
Garrett (R-5th Dist.), chair of a House Financial Services subcommittee, was one of three and present U.S. House members on a panel that assigned blame for the Great Recession away from Wall Street and toward federal policies that encouraged homeownership, even for buyers who couldn't afford it. The discussion attracted around 40 people.
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"His importance and his stature is what brought him to CPAC," said panel moderator Ron Christie, a Republican consultant and a board member of the American Conservative Union, which sponsors the annual conference. "It was a very deliberate decision to invite someone with his stature and his expertise."
In North Jersey, Garrett faces both former White House speechwriter Josh Gottheimer and continued controversy and protests over reported remarks that he would not support the House Republicans' fundraising arm because it backed gay candidates.
Garrett has said his comments reflected his opposition to same-sex marriage as "a devout man of faith." As for the criticism of his position, he called it "more of an opponent-driven issue."
Though rated as the only vulnerable legislator in the New Jersey congressional delegation, Garrett said he wasn't using his time at CPAC to seek support from likeminded individuals for his re-election. "I'm here to talk about the issues,'' he said.
Garrett's position has drawn criticism from some in the GOP and from some of the financial institutions who have been among his biggest campaign backers. He entered 2016 with $2.4 million in the bank, compared with $1.3 million for Gottheimer.
"He should look at candidates in their entirety, as opposed to viewing them entirely through their sexual orientation," said Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay Republicans, "The position he took alienated a lot of voters. Perhaps more to the point, it alienated a lot of his donors. The door is open to a Democratic victory in November."
Garrett's comments have not set well with members of the financial community, his biggest source of campaign contributions. PNC Bank was the latest banking institution to cut off political action committee contributions to Garrett following his comments.
And the political action committee of Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, sponsored a Washington fundraising reception for Gottheimer this week, according to an invitation obtained by NJ Advance Media. JNJ's PAC has not contributed to Garrett's re-election campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.
Still, Garrett can count on conservative support. His lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union, sponsor of CPAC, is 99 percent. Only five lawmakers are rated higher.
"He's a consistent, stalwart conservative and his voting reflect reflect that," Christie said.
Gottheimer said that record is out of touch with the district.
"His rigid and extreme views may earn applause from national Tea Party supporters, but they don't represent the families here in the 5th District," he said.
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.