In Kim-moderated forum, gubernatorial candidates grapple with Trump, election reform

Hundreds of Democrats filled the pews of a New Brunswick chapel Sunday morning to watch a gubernatorial candidate forum moderated by Senator Andy Kim.

The discussion—attended by four of the six Democrats running for governor—touched on a plethora of topics on the minds of New Jersey’s Democrats this year: President Donald Trump, health care costs, housing, and ballot and transparency reforms.

New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka attended the forum. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) and former Senate President Steve Sweeney did not attend.

Trump and Kim might be the two people most responsible for the contours of the governor’s race. With every week that passes, Trump increasingly serves as a foil for Democrats, a federal force the next governor must resist. Kim, whose Senate campaign helped end the county line, is perhaps the man most responsible for this new type of primary, where the influence of county parties and conventions is a fraction of what they were four years ago.

The candidates each worked to present themselves as strong options to resist Trump. In her opening statement, Sherrill said she’s running for governor “basically so we can fight back.” Baraka asked attendees to think about who they can trust “in the time of Donald Trump, who wants to give tax breaks to oligarchs while he takes away Medicaid and robs poor people in this country.”

“The attacks we are facing in Washington, we have never seen before,” Spiller said. “But the closest thing we have seen to it—and I have direct experience pushing back on this—was a guy by the name of Chris Christie, who was the Bully 1.0 who we all stood up to before.”

Fulop, answering a question about how to best handle Trump, said the Republican president responds to strong leaders.

“If you nominate a Republican-lite or a moderate or somebody that doesn’t outline their core values, there is zero chance of success in June, November, and for the next four years,” Fulop said. “You need to articulate a vision and stand up for it time and time again.”

Kim’s presence made state electoral reform an especially potent subject—he pressed the candidates on their thoughts about current election law and potential reforms. Each of the candidates, for example, said they believe ballot position should be drawn randomly for each candidate in each race.

The legislature approved a bill last week that would require random drawings for each candidate with one exception: in offices to which more than one candidate is elected, running mates would be allowed to be drawn together and placed next to each other. The bill awaits a signature or veto from Gov. Phil Murphy.

The judge who ruled the county line unconstitutional, federal judge Zahid Quraishi, wrote in his opinion that there should be a “separate drawing for every office and candidate.” Baraka, in fact, said he would support any lawsuit challenging the bill.

“I think it falls short of what the judge tried to make happen here in the state of New Jersey,” Baraka said. “You can always count on people who have privilege to do what they can to hold on to remnants of the privilege they fear that they’re getting ready to lose.”

The forum was organized by the Build and Defend New Jersey coalition, a group of progressive advocacy organizations and unions. 

During Fulop’s closing remarks, a couple of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the event from a balcony overlooking the stage, demanding to know why none of the candidates mentioned Gaza or Palestine during the 90-minute discussion. Organizers escorted the protesters out of the chapel, and Kim told the small group he would meet with them to talk afterward.

Fulop pointed to the demonstration as an example of tough conversations Democrats need to have, as well as tough decisions he’s willing to make. Fulop, a Jewish man and descendant of Holocaust survivors, reiterated his February rejection of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, an oft-debated framework for defining what constitutes antisemitism.

A bill in the Legislature would make the IHRA definition New Jersey’s official definition of antisemitism. Fulop, in a series of social media posts explaining his decision, said he believed it was counterproductive, an argument which garnered headlines. Sherrill and Gottheimer later told Jewish Insider they would sign the bill.

“The Jewish community didn’t like that I said that, and I explained to them why this is not a good bill,” Fulop said during the forum. “For those of you that are supportive of it, I urge you to look at what I said. I explain in detail why I believe what I believe and why it is good for the future of New Jersey.”

Minutes later, another protester approached the stage to confront Sherrill about her vote for a defense funding bill that included a provision targeting transgender healthcare. Sherrill and Gottheimer voted to approve the December bill. Sherrill said she disapproved of the gender-affirming care provision, which blocked gender-affirming care for children under 18 who are enrolled in the military’s healthcare program, but worried a bill crafted under a GOP trifecta would lead to more extreme policies.

“I voted for the defense bill, I know not everyone agrees,” Sherrill told the crowd to some boos. “It had money in there that we had been fighting for for many years to help young soldiers and sailors get off food stamps, it had a plan in there to get contraception for youth for a yearlong prescription as opposed to three months … We voted it through, many of us, knowing that if we did not, and if it came back in a Republican [trifecta], it would be far worse with more attacks.”