Statement: NJ Citizen Action Executive Director on 2020 Election Results

Newark, NJ – New Jersey Citizen Action congratulates President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris along with the New Jersey Congressional candidates we endorsed who won their re-election bids including Senator Cory Booker, Congresswomen Bonnie Watson Coleman and Mikie Sherill, as well as Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Frank Pallone, Donald Norcross, Tom Malinowski, Andy Kim, Donald Payne, and Albio Sires. We await the final vote count and hope to see Amy Kennedy prevail as Congresswoman-Elect for NJ Congressional District 2.

Despite persistent efforts by the GOP to disenfranchise and suppress voters, the people have rejected the hate, corruption, and abuses of the Trump Administration. Our thanks to all of the organizers, volunteers, and voters who made this historic moment possible, especially the Black and Latinx organizers and groups in swing and red states, who have been organizing and building towards this victory for years. In Georgia, where leaders like Stacey Abrams have made incredible strides for voting and civil rights, we will continue to support the fight to flip those pivotal Senate seats by bolstering the grassroots efforts on the ground with our own organizing and advocating capabilities for the upcoming runoffs.

We would be remiss to not also commend Governor Murphy, the Legislature and the election officials throughout our state and nation for working so hard to make voting as accessible as possible, even in the face of the pandemic. The historic voter turnout this year is in large part thanks to all of these democracy builders.

Collectively we must pause to acknowledge the historic achievements of electing the first Black and South Asian woman as Vice President as well as the historic record achieved by President-Elect Biden, garnering more popular votes than any other presidential candidate in history.

Despite the victory, there remains work to be done – to ensure these hard-fought election wins translate into policies that New Jersey and the nation need to dismantle racism, address inequality, and extend economic opportunities for all.  In the next four years, New Jersey leaders and advocates will have the opportunity to play a critical role in national efforts to fight for affordable healthcare, paid leave, police and criminal justice reform, consumer protection, racial equity, tax fairness, and economic justice. We at New Jersey Citizen Action look forward to fully engaging in these opportunities.

In the past six weeks, New Jersey Citizen Action urged New Jersey voters to elect Biden and Harris and defend the Democratic gains we made in 2018. In NJ Congressional District 3, in particular, we coalesced with local activists to ensure the re-election of Andy Kim, by making a strong case for Andy Kim as a champion of the Affordable Care Act and health care. We sent health care voter postcards to more than 5,000 voters in the district and put up more than 600 “Andy Kim for Health Care” lawn signs around the district. We held Health Care Saturday Caravans in Burlington and Ocean counties to bring visibility to Andy and the role he has played in defending and improving our health care.

In NJ Congressional District 2 we sent emails, and postcards to voters laying out Congressman Jeff Van Drew’s anti-working family voting record on paid leave and family economic security issues. We urged voters to support Amy Kennedy, a committed advocate of paid family leave, earned sick and safe days, support for working parents during the pandemic and more. An unfortunate and narrow defeat, we will continue to advocate for policies and leaders that address the pressing needs of the district’s workers and families.

The next four years are vital to building a better future, and we need the widespread grassroots energy of this election to persist and carry us forward. This is the first step of repairing our country and creating an inclusive America that expands equality and opportunity to all who reside here.