Voting in the Bergen County Democratic convention has begun, with First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) facing off for the county party line U.S. Senate. Murphy is favored, but Kim is putting up a serious fight for the party endorsement.
It’s not clear exactly how many delegates have already voted, but it numbers at least in the several hundreds, with voting continuing through 7:30 p.m.; alternate delegates replacing absent delegates will be able to begin voting at 6:45 p.m. With all votes cast by paper ballots, counting will take a fair amount of time after voting ends.
In the meantime, here are both candidates’ remarks delivered before the convention delegates gathered this evening in Paramus.
Andy Kim
Good evening everyone, how are you? Thanks so much for coming on out! I’m Andy Kim, and I have to say, it is so humbling to stand before you today as a candidate for the United States Senate.
I am the son of immigrants, and I never expected to have this chance to be able to do this. It has been such an incredible experience to go around our state, to be able to make my case to the people. I never thought this would happen, because 50 years ago, my parents immigrated to this country. And what I’ve seen over the last 50 years, with my parents – what I’ve heard from them has been so extraordinary.
My parents had a very difficult childhood. My father is someone who was born with polio; someone who struggled in his childhood, came to America, and ended up getting a Ph.D. in genetics here in America. My mom is someone who is a nurse. She grew up in a really difficult childhood, but here in the United States, ended up getting a nursing degree and serving the hospital systems of New Jersey for her career. That’s what New Jersey gave us. That’s what America gave us.
I have been so blessed that here in New Jersey, I was able to get a public school education that transformed my life: allowed me to become a Rhodes Scholar, allowed me to get a Ph.D. And when I thought about what I wanted to do with my life, there was nothing I’d rather do than serve this country that gave my family so much.
So I feel blessed to have this opportunity to be a public servant – to serve this country for every minute of my career. And I hope to serve this country every minute of the rest of my career.
I have the great honor, now, of being able to represent in Congress the community where I got my public school education. I’m now raising my two kids down the road from where I grew up. And I have to tell you, as I go through this and we see what’s happening in the world right now, I’m so terrified about what kind of America my kids are going to grow up in. What kind of situation we’re going to see with the conflicts abroad and the crises here at home; how we’re going to do our best to give our kids the kind of future that they deserve.
So that’s why I’m here. Yes, I’m a congressman from the 3rd district; yes, I’m a candidate for Senate; but most importantly, I stand before you here now as a father terrified about what kind of America my kids are going to grow up in. And I’m going to do everything I humanly can to be able to try to give my kids the kind of future that they deserve. That’s what this is about. Sometimes we get so caught up in the politics; sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that we lose sight of what we’re actually trying to do, which is solve problems, and try to deliver for the people in so many different ways. And that’s something that I hope to be able to work alongside all of you for.
Our democracy is a beautiful thing, and it’s so incredible here in New Jersey to see it all come together. All I’m asking for is a fair shot, and all I’m asking for is an opportunity to make my case before Bergen and before the rest of the state. Thank you so very much, everybody, for giving me the chance to be able to speak to all of you; I hope to be able to earn your vote, and I’m so appreciative of this chance to become the next senator from New Jersey.
Tammy Murphy
Hello, Bergen County! Listen, thank you so much for turning out. I know it takes a lot of dedication, and you all are the ones who really are the backbone of the party here in Bergen County – making sure that the Democratic agenda is executed. Thank you for everything you do.
I’m Tammy Murphy. I am running for the United States Senate because I’m deeply concerned about the world we’re handing on to the next generation. As the mother of four, I will tell you that I see the world through their eyes, and I will tell you that they’re losing faith in us. They don’t see anyone who is working on their priorities. They don’t see anything getting done in Washington D.C. I am running to be the senator who will get stuff done.
I have a history of doing that. I’m running because we send far too much money to Washington D.C. Affordability is an issue for us, and we all know it. There is so much we can do: whether it’s housing, whether it’s child care, whether it’s food, whether it’s insurance, you name it. Up and down my arm, there’s so much work we can do. How about let’s get the SALT cap lifted immediately?
I am also running because I’ve worked really hard on infant and maternal health, and I will tell you that reproductive freedoms are on the ballot this year. We have got to codify Roe at the federal level – we’ve got to do it. This is an equity issue. The 29 states where abortion has been banned – women are going to extreme measures not to have that child. And if they do have a child, they’re bringing that child up in a home that’s either financially or structurally unable to support that child. This is a travesty. We’re really strong in New Jersey, but we’re only as strong as our elected leaders. We’ve got to settle this at the federal level.
Last two things I want to work on: climate change. We all know what climate change is. We have got to solve and work on climate change together with other states. We are the first state in the United States to teach climate change in the K-12 curriculum. We are the only state, so we need some others out there.
The last topic is gun safety. I’ve always been really scared of guns. You may not know this, but as of yesterday, we have had 64 mass shootings in the United States since January 1. On average, we’re losing about 108 people every single day to gun violence, and of those 108, approximately 63 are dying by suicide. Again, we’re doing really well in New Jersey. We have an A ranking from the Giffords Law Center, one of only two states. But if anybody decides to fill a truck with guns in Pennsylvania and drive in here right now, we’d be defenseless. We’ve got to solve this at the national level. Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords’ husband, is a senator from Arizona; he is a friend, he and I have plans, he needs reinforcements – send me to Washington D.C. and I will help get that done.
I want to tell you, Bergen County: send me to Washington D.C. I will not let you down. I will work harder than anybody you’ve ever met. I’ll be a feedback loop. And hey – how about let’s finally send a woman to Washington D.C. in the United States Senate. Thank you Bergen County!