Sun. Nov 24th, 2024

Rep. Andy Kim speaks at a rally with members of Make the Road Action in Perth Amboy on Oct. 25, 2024. (Sophie Nieto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor)

Blocks away from the Raritan River waterfront in Perth Amboy, Rep. Andy Kim spoke to an invigorated group of immigrants and activists who were ready for door-knocking last Friday evening.

Kim (D-03), who is seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, bemoaned the toxicity in politics today, saying the dehumanizing language bandied about by our leaders makes him worry about the kind of America his children will grow up in.

“This is a critical moment for this country, a historic moment for this country, and I believe the next four to five years will shape the next four to five decades of this nation,” he said.

In response, the crowd chanted,  “Si se puede.” Yes, we can.

Kim’s visit to Perth Amboy was one of myriad trips he and other candidates are making around New Jersey as Election Day nears. New Jerseyans have the presidential race, the U.S. Senate race, and 12 House races on the ballot, plus local contests.

During Kim’s visit to Perth Amboy — a Democratic stronghold where Trump’s best performance was winning 27% of the vote in 2020 — progressive and immigrant-focused group Make the Road Action endorsed Kim, and he vowed if he wins to protect immigrants and fight for reforming the current pathway to citizenship.

“Let’s give it everything we got. Let’s make sure we get out there and we tell people why it’s important to make sure that they show up and vote,” he told the crowd before they went door-knocking with pins, flyers, and voter information. “If we do that, I am sure we will change this country for the better.”

Kim is seeking to replace Bob Menendez, who resigned from the Senate in August after being convicted in federal court of bribery and other charges. Menendez was an outspoken champion of immigrants’ rights, and Kim said if elected, the immigrant community would have another defender in the Senate.

Roughly a quarter of New Jerseyans are immigrants. Kim stressed he wants families to achieve the “American dream” of coming here to give their family better opportunities.

“Whether they are current immigrants or their families came over 10 generations ago, people share that sense that that’s what this country can and should be about,” he said. “I think that’s what gives me hope to connect.”

Cesar Romero, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who came to the United States when he was 3 years old, sought to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which protects some residents who entered the country illegally before turning 16. The week before he was set to apply, the Trump administration shut down applications.

He said he’s proud to support a congressman who is a defender of immigrants and will push for a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants like himself.

“I stand here with hope knowing that we are one step closer to realizing that dream, knowing that we are one step closer to having a champion in the Senate who truly understands our community’s needs and struggles,” Romero said.

Curtis Bashaw, Republican candidate for Senate, sits with potential voters at Nutley Diner on Oct. 30, 2024. (Sophie Nieto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor)

Curtis Bashaw

Kim’s GOP opponent, Curtis Bashaw, is hoping to become the first Republican New Jersey voters have sent to the Senate in 50 years.

During an interview Wednesday at Nutley Diner, Bashaw said his status as an underdog in his race against Kim is what drives some voters to him. Bashaw’s campaign has painted Kim as a longtime D.C. insider and highlighted Bashaw’s status as a businessman (he owns a hotel in Cape May).

“People are ready for change,” Bashaw said while eating French toast and bacon. “People are hungry for something different, and that’s why I’ve never felt such energy on the ground like this, and it’s building and building. People meet me, and they’ve said, ‘Wow, you tick all my boxes.’”

Bashaw, who if elected would be New Jersey’s first out gay senator, describes himself as a fiscal conservative who wants stronger controls on the nation’s southern border and believes in Israel’s right to defend itself in the war in Gaza. He said he is pro-choice and would break with Republicans when it comes to protecting a woman’s right to choose.

In the final stretch of the campaign, he said voters want to talk about affordability, border security, and abortion rights. At the Nutley Diner, one woman was sold once she heard he was a Republican. Another told Bashaw she had already cast her ballot for him.

Nutley has swung between Republican and Democratic presidents in the Trump era. Trump received 51% of the vote here in 2016 against Hillary Clinton, and in 2020, President Joe Biden nabbed 51% against Trump. Bashaw said he’s targeting towns like this in the final days of his campaign.

He brushed off recent polls that show Kim with double-digit leads, noting that both polls showed a large number of undecided voters.

“I just don’t have a lot of faith in these polls, especially in an election where people are afraid to come out of the closet with what they think. I like to say it’s easier coming out as gay than it is as Republican in this day and age,” he said.

Rep. Tom Kean speaking to union members in Springfield on Oct. 26, 2024. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor)

Tom Kean Jr.

The state’s most closely watched House race is in the 7th Congressional District, where Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is seeking a second term against Democratic challenger Sue Altman.

Kean spent last Saturday morning in Springfield with about 80 members of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825 who went door-to-door pitching his reelection to voters.

This Union County township is far from a Republican bastion — its voters gave Clinton and Biden about 60% of the vote in 2016 and 2020 — but in a swingy district like the 7th, nabbing some Democratic support here could help Kean eke out a win. Kean defeated Democratic former Rep. Tom Malinowski in 2022 by 2.8 points. Two years earlier, Biden won the towns that make up the district by four points.

Kean argued to his union supporters that the positions Altman took in recent years as the leader of the progressive New Jersey Working Families Alliance make her out of touch with 7th District voters.

“My opponent is a person who supports a Green New Deal,” Kean told them. “She supports every single tax increase that Phil Murphy would try to put on the people of New Jersey, that has made it less affordable. She will do the exact same down in Washington, D.C.”

Greg Lalevee is business manager for the Local 825, which represents more than 8,000 heavy equipment operators. He told the New Jersey Monitor it is supporting Kean because it considers him pro-worker and pro-development. The union backs Republican and Democratic House members seeking election next week.

“We’re bipartisan. We’re very narrow in what we worry about with politicians. We stay out of the culture wars. We worry about what’s going to put our members to work, and keep their standard of living, keep their quality of life. We don’t venture far away from that center,” Lalevee said.

Altman has dinged Kean for his support of Trump and criticized Trump’s influence over House Republicans who helped kill a bipartisan border security bill. Asked whether he’s concerned about Trump’s pledge to launch a mass deportation effort if elected, Kean told the New Jersey Monitor, “We are a nation of immigrants and also a nation of laws. We need to know who’s coming into this country and it needs to go through a legal process.”

He added, “We also have to realize that there are people in jail who have raped and killed people who are here illegally. We need to start deporting criminals.”

Sue Altman went on a tour of Phillipsburg businesses on Oct. 30, 2024, with Councilman Keith A. Kennedy, a Democrat. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

Sue Altman

Altman was in Phillipsburg on Wednesday touring small businesses.

Hopscotching Main Street storefronts, Altman was breezy in a way that seemed at odds with polls that put her near even with Kean. Altman, a progressive activist who played college and professional basketball and coached afterward, called up a sports analogy to explain her calm.

“What matters in the fourth quarter is hustle and determination and your team,” Altman said. “I know we have the best campaign team and the best grassroots and volunteer infrastructure, and we’re outworking him and using our relationships around the district to make sure that I can meet as many people as possible before Election Day. And so the very end of the game, those are the things that matter, heart and hustle, determination and teamwork.”

In Phillipsburg, Warren County’s most populous municipality, she stopped at Rapaen Cuisine and gave a thumbs-up to the colada morada, a traditional Ecuadoran drink, that owner Wilson Patiño insisted she try. She wandered a consignment shop and joked that she found her “victory dress” for election night — a sparkly bodice atop a patriotic blue skirt.

But she also heard plenty of concerns about struggling businesses, sluggish redevelopment efforts, infrastructure needs, transportation and walkability, and affordability and inflation.

“My dad always said if cheesesteaks go above $10, we’re going to have to close the doors. Well, now we’re at $10,” Jody St. Luce, Joe’s Steak Shop’s third-generation owner, told Altman.

Altman ordered lunch to go and assured St. Luce she would work hard for the district if elected.

This is a town that has twice voted for Trump for president, giving him 53% of the vote in 2016 and 49% in 2020.

“In Phillipsburg, understanding exactly the challenges to revitalize the downtown, the tensions at play, wanting to modernize but also preserve the historic, wanting to make sure there’s access to nature and also public transportation, and capitalizing on the natural advantages of this part of the state, for example, is something I want to dive into and think about how to help, as someone in Congress,” Altman told the New Jersey Monitor. “Yesterday, we did a veterans’ roundtable, and I felt the same way. I’m aware, in general, of the challenges that face veterans, but hearing from veterans directly makes me want to jump in headfirst on my first day and start to solve some of these problems.”

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