Landslide victory: U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim wins endorsement of local Princeton Democratic club

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U.S. Rep Andy Kim received 90.3 percent of the votes cast at the local Democratic club’s endorsement meeting in Princeton Sunday night.

First Lady Tammy Murphy and Lawrence Hamm only received one vote each, while Patricia Campos-Medina received six votes. The candidates sent statements to the club ahead of the endorsement. Murphy did not attend the event because she had a scheduling conflict, and instead sent a surrogate to represent her.

A total of 93 members and affiliate members of the Princeton Community Democratic Organization cast ballots for the Senate race at the endorsement meeting. The local club allows people who are not residents of Princeton to participate in the club as affiliates. The detailed count:

U.S. Senate
93 Votes Cast
Rep. Andy Kim – 85 votes (91.4%)
Dr. Patricia Campos-Medina – 6 votes (6.5%)
Lawrence Hamm – 1 vote (1.1%)
First Lady Tammy Murphy – 1 vote (1.1%)
No endorsement – 0 votes

In the endorsement vote for the House of Representatives, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman dominated, receiving 94.3 percent of the votes. Princeton resident Daniel Dart received 4.6 percent of the votes. The detailed count:

U.S. House, Congressional District 12
87 Votes Cast
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman – 82 votes (94.3%)
Daniel Dart – 4 votes (4.6%)
No endorsement – 1 vote (1.1%)
Not all affiliate members were eligible to vote in the CD-12 race, only those living in the congressional district.

In the endorsement for U.S. President, Joe Biden received 90.3 percent of the votes. Rep. Dean Phillips received two votes and seven people did not endorse either candidate. The detailed count:

President
93 Votes Cast
Joseph R. Biden Jr – 84 votes (90.3%)
Rep. Dean Phillips – 2 votes (2.2%)
No endorsement – 7 votes (7.5%)

Three Democratic incumbents for Mercer County Commission are running unopposed for three seats on the commission. Samuel Frisby, Kristin McLaughlin, and Terrance Stokes were endorsed by acclamation.

U.S. Senate candidate statements

Andy Kim

Thank you for all that you do for the welfare of our state, our Democratic Party, and our communities. It’s with great humility that I write to you to ask for your support to become the next U.S. Senator from New Jersey.

New Jersey is my home. I grew up here, I attended public schools here, I got my first job here, and now I’m raising my two boys and sending them to Ist grade and 3rd grade in the same community that gave me and my sister every opportunity to succeed. After getting an education, I worked as a public servant from the State Department to Afghanistan to the White House as a national security staff member for President Barack Obama.

In 2017, I saw our Republican Congressman, Tom MacArthur, threaten to take away health care for members of our community. I stepped up and defeated him by working to build one of the largest grassroots operations New Jersey has ever seen.

When I first got into office in 2019, I promised to be the most accessible and transparent representative in the country. I’ve done so by holding 72 town halls throughout my district. I said I would put people first, and we’ve done that by resolving more than 11,000 cases and returning more than $33 million to people, organizations, and businesses across the district. And when redistricting brought portions of Mercer County into NJ-03, I was proud to open an office in Hamilton Township where my team and I have been able to resolve more than 110 cases and bring back more than $1.5 million in federal funds to neighbors in our communities.

Together, we can make sure we hold this Senate seat so we can restore reproductive rights, address corruption in our politics, and protect our democracy. We live in the time of the greatest amount of distrust in politicians, and I am running to change that. We must restore integrity to our public offices, and I would do so as your next Senator.

As core members of the Democratic Party, I appreciate and respect the responsibility that you have before you. I hope that my service to New Jersey has earned your respect and I humbly ask for your support. If I or my team can address any concerns or answer any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Samuel Blackwood at samuel@andykim.com.

Tammy Murphy

Why Tammy Murphy Is Running
For the first time in our history, the next generation believes that the American Dream is out of reach and slipping away from them. Our young people worry if they will be able to buy a home, to afford health care, and if the places they go to school are safe and free from gun violence. On top of all of this, they feel underrepresented and disconnected from Washington. The problems facing the next generation have never been greater, and I believe we owe it to our children and grandchildren to give them a better future.

Simply put, Washington needs a new voice, energy and leadership. I’m running for the United States Senate because our kids and families deserve a Senator who is going to take on the big challenges and find solutions – I’m ready to be that changemaker and to do just that.

The problems facing the next generation have never been greater, and I believe we owe it to our children and grandchildren to give them a better future. We all know the big problems we face. In the Senate, I will:
● Stop extremists who are working to ban abortion in all 50 states – including New Jersey.
● Treat gun violence like a public health emergency by passing an assault weapons ban,
stronger background checks, and red flag laws to keep guns out of dangerous hands.
● Fight back against the Republican extremists undermining our democracy.
● Lead on combating climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, growing
renewables, and moving towards a green energy economy.
● Work every day to make life more affordable for all, from housing to childcare to college and more.

Patricia Campos-Medina

Born into a family of hardworking immigrants, Patricia Campos-Medina’s journey embodies the essence of the American dream. Inspired by her parents’ struggle as low wage workers in the hotel and restaurant industry, Patricia became a tireless advocate for the rights of American workers for more than 30 years. She has led national policy and legislative efforts as a legislative and political director for unions such as UNITE, UNITEHERE, and SEIU. She also leads research and policy innovation on worker rights and the economy as the Executive Director of the Worker Institute at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

In New Jersey, Patricia has served on many public boards and commissions, including the NJ Casino Redevelopment Authority (CRDA) and the NJ Economic Growth Council. She has also been involved in the NY-NJ Port Security Task Force and the NJ Restart and Recovery Advisory Council, addressing the economic and health-related concerns of workers in NJ during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Throughout her professional career, she has stood for the rights of manufacturing workers, cafeteria workers, construction and distribution center workers, nurses, teachers, doctors, and immigrant workers advocating for safe workplaces before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patricia and her husband, Bob, reside in Hunterdon County with their two sons, their rescue dog, Miles, and their parents and grandparents. Patricia’s extended family includes three brothers, two stepsons, and four grandchildren.

She believes in the power of organized people to overcome the power of money in our politics.

Patricia is a champion for working families. She has been a full-fledged Jersey Girl for over 20 years. She is an immigrant, having fled El Salvador’s violent Civil War. She was separated from her family for 8 years and was reunited when she was 14. Her story is the epitome of the American Dream. She is running because she is living proof that immigrants get the job done, work harder, and contribute more to America than Donald Trump ever has.

A strong Latina labor champion and daughter of the working class, she is running to fight for democracy and our freedoms. She is running for the U.S. Senate to lay out an agenda for every middle and working-class person. She is the only major candidate fighting for Medicare for all, a Federal $15 minimum wage, and a Ceasefire in Gaza. She is the only candidate who understands the needs of NJ middle and working-class families.

She will push every day in the Senate to codify a woman’s right to an abortion and reproductive healthcare. As a proud progressive, she will stand with President Biden to continue fighting for student debt forgiveness and affordable college, universal childcare and pre-k, and major investments in green energy to combat the existential threat of climate change. She will be fighting from the picket lines for working and middle-class families, for Latina representation, and for bold progressive policies that will lift all of New Jersey and build an economy that works for everyone, not just for the few and connected.

Lawrence Hamm

My name is Lawrence Hamm and I was raised in Newark New Jersey, I attended public schools and emerged at age 17 where I was appointed to the Newark Board of Education, making me at that time the youngest voting school board member in the history of the United States. At the age of 20, I was also the youngest person to ever qualify as a candidate for councilman in the City of Newark. I received my bachelor’s degree and graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1978.

I received awards at Princeton for my activism and humanitarian efforts. After
graduation, I returned to Newark to continue my activism and served as a leader in the New Jersey Anti-Apartheid Coalition and president of the New Jersey Rainbow Coalition. I am the founder and Chairman of the People’s Organization For Progress (POP), a statewide, independent, grass roots organization. POP works for racial, social, economic justice and peace. As chairman, I have consistently worked toward building unity among community organizations. I was a National Education Association Human And Civil Rights Award Winner, receiving the organization’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award. In 2022, I was included on Insider NJ’s: Insider 100 Policymakers.

I am running for U.S. Senate because I want to make our government work for all the people and not just for the riches and the most powerful. I am running because I think our state deserves representatives in the Senate who are about using their office to serve the people and not to enrich themselves. Some of my platforms that I stand on would be Medicare for all, stronger voter rights, affordable housing, woman’s reproductive rights, free college, living wage for all, permanent ceasefire in Gaza, reparations for slavery, protect and expand Social Security, gun control, eliminate poverty and food insecurity amongst other important issues and concerns of the people.

I am the proud father of three daughters, Laini Hamm, Imani Hamm, and Nia Hamm-Clark, all of whom are college graduates and lastly, I am the proud grandfather of Eli Clark, the first child of my daughter Nia and her husband Jason Clar





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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.