Hamm, Campos-Medina seek a bolder image than frontrunner Kim in NJ Senate debate

Senate candidates Patricia Campos-Medina and Larry Hamm fought to undermine Andy Kim’s frontrunner status Monday night — questioning his effectiveness on immigration reform and drawing sharp distinctions from his support for aid to Israel — during a debate moderated by WNYC’s Michael Hill at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.

The debate — with video streamed live on WNYC.org — saw longtime activist and People’s Organization for Progress founder Hamm pledge to join Princeton students in a hunger strike as they seek divestment from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza. And Campos-Medina — a labor rights leader and El Salvadoran immigrant — pushed Kim, a three-term congressman, for what she described as inaction on immigration.

Kim, by contrast, focused on pragmatic approaches and winning elections to keep Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson or former President Donald Trump from setting a national agenda. A poll last month showed Kim far ahead of the other two candidates, but nearly 40% of voters undecided.

On the issue of immigration reform, Kim said he’s frustrated by talking to Republican colleagues in Congress who he said “don’t want to actually solve this problem."

But he said Congress can take a “very tangible” step to deal with a massive influx of immigrants — hiring more immigration judges and creating a process to dispose of cases in “30 to 60 days.”

Hamm said immigration reforms based on “human rights” should prevent ongoing border separation of families. And Campos-Medina said she would invest in resettlement programs for families and ensure that all asylum cases are adjudicated in a way that keeps families together.

Immigrants “contribute to America. We do not poison it,” Campos-Medina said.

Calling immigration reform a “failure” of the U.S. government, she asked what Kim had done to work for it during his six years in Congress. Kim’s response: Trump was still in office and Democrats’ focus was on stopping the “backsliding” due to Trump’s immigration policy, which he called “cruel.”

But Kim also pointed to votes for the DREAM Act and in support of expanding temporary protected status and deferred enforced departure to let more immigrants stay in the country.

The debate gave Campos-Medina and Hamm a chance to draw a distinction from Kim on the Israel-Gaza war, just weeks after Kim voted for military aid to Israel.

Kim said he’s supported providing Israel with defensive capabilities, but also would support “actions right now to try to avert the offensive in Rafah, something that I think would be counterintuitive and, and frankly, something that would be counter to the security of Israel.”

Hamm and Campos-Medina drew took a starker stance against military aid, calling as well for an immediate cease-fire. Kim has previously called for what he describes as a "bilateral" cease-fire as well.

“If [a cease-fire] does not happen, that will lead to a regional-wide conflagration and possibly a world war,” Hamm said, describing Israel’s campaign in Gaza as “genocidal.”

Campos-Medina, asked, “If we want peace, why are you continuing to indiscriminately arm Israel to continue on a war against the people of Palestine?”

Both Campos-Medina and Hamm said they’d back Medicare for All — a position Kim has said he’s not committed to, describing himself as “open” to both single-payer and multi-payer solutions for universal healthcare.

In an exchange about improving maternal healthcare — a key issue for First Lady Tammy Murphy, who’d been considered the likely frontrunner before dropping from the Senate race, effectively ceding that role to Kim — Campos-Medina said she’s spoken to healthcare providers in Black communities that say the cost of processing insurance is “so big” that they spend more time processing claims than treating people.

“One system of paying” would help people get the care they need more easily, she said.

State officials estimate Black New Jersey mothers are nearly seven times more likely than white New Jersey mothers to die from maternity-related complications.

Kim pointed for his support for the “Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act,” which expands WIC eligibility during postpartum and breastfeeding periods, increases funding for programs to support maternal care and grows the perinatal workforce

A question on addressing climate change gave Hamm and Campos-Medina another chance to paint Kim as "compromising."

The congressman noted that while he’s been in Congress, legislators passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which he called “the largest investment to be able to fight climate change in our nation's history.”

But when Hamm said to make effective change, politicians would need to overturn the Citizens United ruling that opened the floodgates of independent expenditures in elections, Kim pushed back, saying there’s “no magic wand” to eliminate outside interests.

“We have to be able to build the kind of majorities to be able to do so. And I know that that's tough work, but it is possible,” he said, stressing his own electoral victories in a district Trump won in 2020.

But the solution, Campos-Medina said, “is not more candidates who go to Washington, D.C. and make deals with Republicans.

“What we need is to energize the Democratic base,” she said.

Hamm echoed that sentiment.

“We want to move away from fossil fuels but we can’t because we’ve got an election. If this logic persists, we will face extinction," Hamm said.

On several issues, the candidates were seemingly in lockstep. They all said they’d support ending the filibuster, expanding the Supreme Court and pursuing reparations for the descendants of slaves. They each said they wouldn’t accept any compromises on a right to an abortion.

All three said they’d support a repeal of the Trump-era $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, or SALT. For many New Jerseyans, SALT has provided key tax relief in a state with some of the highest property taxes in the nation.

The candidates are seeking to replace indicted Sen. Robert Menendez, whose trial on bribery and corruption charges started Monday. Menendez is not running as a Democrat in this year’s election, but has said he’ll consider running as an independent following his trial.

Hotel entrepreneur Curtis Bashaw, Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, Tabernacle resident Justin Murphy and Pemberton resident Albert Harshaw will compete in this year's Republican primary. New Jersey last elected a Republican to the Senate in 1972.

New Jersey party primaries are closed — meaning only registered members of a party may take part. An unaffiliated voter, however, can declare an affiliation as late as Election Day, June 4.

The last day to register as a voter in time for the primary election is Tuesday, May 14.

Audio of the debate will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on 93.9 FM and streamed at wnyc.org Monday at 8 p.m.

The “Vote Your Values: 2024 New Jersey Democratic Senate Primary Debate” was hosted by the ACLU of New Jersey, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, and Salvation and Social Justice, in partnership with WNYC/New Jersey Public Radio. (Gothamist and WNYC are both owned by New York Public Radio.)

This story has been updated to include more details about the Senate debate, to clarify that all three candidates support some form of a cease-fire in Gaza and to correct the last date residents can register to vote before the primary election.