Two local New Jersey news outlets have questioned U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer’s alleged support for Bruce Springsteen, the iconic New Jersey-born rock singer, songwriter and guitarist, as most recently highlighted in an opinion piece yesterday.

Gottheimer, a Democrat who announced last month that he is running for governor of New Jersey next year, has repeatedly referenced Springsteen during his campaign. He launched his gubernatorial bid by walking out to the rock legend’s hit “Glory Days” and he references the artist on his campaign website, writing that he grew up attending Springsteen concerts “every chance he could get (and still does)!”

Gottheimer’s gubernatorial campaign account on X, formerly known as , describes the representative as a “Bruce Superfan” in its biography.

In a Tuesday opinion piece for NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, Jeremy Schneider pointed to Gottheimer’s recent X post as an example of the representative “exaggerating his Bruce bonafides.” On Friday, Gottheimer shared a photo of his top listened-to songs from his Spotify Wrapped—an end-of-year feature from the streaming giant that highlights users’ top songs, total listening time and listening rankings.

The photo showed all five top tracks to be Springsteen hits. Gottheimer captioned the photo, “No surprises here… Fun fact: My first ever concert was at Meadowlands to see The Boss!” in reference to Springsteen’s nickname.

However, the op-ed cast doubt on the authenticity of the alleged screenshot, referencing reporting by another local outlet, New Jersey Monitor, which noted that “the fonts and spacing are all wrong.” In the outlet’s Monday newsletter, it asked, “Did Gottheimer’s campaign fake a Spotify Wrapped to curry favor with fans of the Boss?”

Regalrumination.com has reached out to Gottheimer’s communications team for comment via email on Wednesday.

The four-term congressman told NJ Advance Media in a statement, “This would be my Spotify Wrapped if I didn’t share my account with my 12- and 15-year-old kids,” adding that “While it’s Springsteen all day for me—don’t get me wrong, I still love listening to !”

Springsteen, who is now 75 years old, has been one of the most popular rock musicians for decades, selling tens of millions of albums.

Gottheimer is running on a platform of “lower taxes, lower costs” in the state’s November 4, 2025, gubernatorial election.

Democratic Governor Phil Murphy is term-limited and cannot seek reelection, leaving the seat up for grabs.

Update 12/11/24, 11:30 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional information.