Running against the Union County party establishment in the 2021 Democratic Primary, Jason Krychiw wants to serve as the state senator from the 20th District, a daunting task with that seat currently occupied by incumbent state Senator Joe Cryan (D-20).

Krychiw’s path gets more complicated when one considers the senate candidacy of Assemblyman Jamel Holley (D-20), who’s also running in the Democratic Primary after numerous collisions with Cryan.

But the candidate – vice chair of the Progressive Democrats of New Jersey – notes that his particular expertise at this point in time uniquely equip him to serve the voters of the 20th District.

Krychiw received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in microbiology from Rutgers University and worked on research in science labs there before becoming an adjunct professor and then a fulltime lecturer at Kean University.

He describes his research background in virology as obviously unique for the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

There are not many full-fledged scientists and researchers in the state legislature right now. Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D-16) – a Princeton University plasma physicist – comes to mind.

New Jersey could’ve done better in responding to the COVID-19 catastrophe.

“If you go back, people have said something like this could happen, and I get it, on some level it’s hard to envision something like this, but it is definitely one of the areas we should have been more proactive about and going forward… we’re dealing with shortages of vaccines and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Krychiw will not get caught flat-footed in the crisis, he argued.

He did note “concerning rhetoric about vaccinations,” a passing reference to some of the positions adopted by Holley.

Overall, “We’ve done an ok job but by no stretch have we one a great job,” said the progressive Democrat.

In the afternoon interview with InsiderNJ, Krychiw broke down the marijuana legislation signed into law this week by Governor Phil Murphy. He said the process took too long and criticized the legislature for leaving critical areas unaddressed, including homegrown marijuana.

He talked about this and other issues he wants to drive in his 2021 campaign for senate, including the progressives’ push to reform the ballot in New Jersey, and challenge what he describes as the “deep seated party chair structure” of politics here – a “foundational issue that keeps younger voices out of office.”

For the full InsiderNJ interview with Krychiw, please view below: