Turning The Ballot Box Against Republicans

Trump’s poll ratings are dismal, with the mid-term elections just over two weeks away.

He is now trying to make the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a scapegoat.
The Kremlin can hardly believe their luck.

In just over two weeks, Americans will head to the polls for the most important midterm elections in our lifetime. Democracy is on the ballot. The economy is on the ballot. Frankly, our kids’ future is on the ballot.

Democrats need to win big and use the power they gain in the election to improve people’s lives. But we can’t just cross our fingers and assume everything will work out. Hope isn’t a strategy. We need to move deliberately – both heading into Election Day and in the first months of the new Congress.

Before I entered politics, I served almost 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter pilot. In the military, you build a plan before you execute the mission. So, today, I want to share my plan with you for the weeks and months ahead.

Here’s how we win:

#1: SPEAK CLEARLY ABOUT TRUMP’S CORRUPTION AND CRUELTY

Now isn’t the time for euphemisms. Democrats to explain what Trump’s corruption means to the American people: he’s lining his pockets, as he drives up your costs.

Since returning to office, Trump and his family have made over $2 billion in shady crypto deals. His tariffs function like a global extortion racket, forcing companies to beg for market access while saddling you with higher grocery bills. These illegal tariffs have cost more than $4,000 per household in New Jersey.

People are struggling to make ends meet, but Trump couldn’t care less. He’s called the affordability crisis a “hoax.” It’s on us to show that the President is more concerned with profiting off his constituents than serving them.

But let’s be clear: the rot runs much deeper than Trump himself.

Our Defense Secretary acts like a 14-year-old playing Call of Duty. He has no strategy in Iran and no qualifications to lead. He rambles on about meritocracy while blocking women and Black service members from receiving the promotions they’ve earned. As a veteran, it pains me to see how he’s divided our military and put troops in harm’s way.

Meanwhile, our Health and Human Services Secretary is an out-and-proud anti-vaxxer. America is experiencing its worst measles outbreak in decades because he’s sowed doubt in the very vaccinations designed to keep us safe.

We need to show what two more years of this Administration will look like without checks: higher costs, more corruption, and worse futures for our kids.

#2: ACKNOWLEDGE SOME HARD TRUTHS ABOUT OUR PARTY

At the same time, the Democratic Party has plenty of work to do. We’re in this situation because our leaders didn’t have a forward-looking vision or plan. Now, the voting rights, civil rights, and reproductive rights we promised to protect are under attack.

I’m the granddaughter of a union worker whose home was built by FDR’s New Deal Administration. I know firsthand that well-run government can change people’s lives. It’s time for Democrats to own that message.

We’re at our strongest when we’re fighting for working people. So, let’s fight. Enough with the going along to get along and the attempts to please everyone (that actually please no one).

Instead of reacting to Trump, we need to take affirmative positions. We need to own our values. Ultimately, we need to use our positions as elected officials to help people instead of obsessing over process.

#3: EMPOWER A NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS

Part of the way we turn the page is by empowering new leaders. The American people deserve leaders who are every bit as gritty and determined as they are.

I came up in the first post-Trump cycle of 2018. My Congressional classmates and I raised our hands to run because we saw how Trump was wrecking our norms. We didn’t have the patience for ten-year studies or strongly-worded letters.

Some politicians who cut their teeth in the pre-Trump era of politics think they can wait things out until everything returns to normal. They’re wrong. This moment demands fearlessness and urgency.

So, we need to get behind leaders who get the moment and have a track record of serving others instead of themselves.

Take New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. The incumbent, Tom Kean Jr., stopped showing up to work for months with no explanation to his constituents. When he’s in Washington, he’s a rubber stamp for Trump’s worst policies – be it the tariffs or the war in Iran.

Compare him to Rebecca Bennett, a fellow Navy Veteran who cares deeply about this country and wants to drive down healthcare costs.

The same dynamic is playing out in Ohio. Vivek Ramaswamy is a billionaire who travels the state in a private jet. He knows nothing about the struggles facing working people. But his opponent, Amy Acton, faced hunger and homelessness as a child. She’ll take those experiences into office to make life better for kids growing up in similar circumstances.

It’s time for fresh faces and perspectives.

#4: THINK BEYOND JUST 2026

It would be a mistake to see November 3rd as the end of the race. The real work begins on November 4th as we start charting the plan for governing.

Here’s the bottom line: it’s not enough to win a two- or four-year term. Majorities are temporary. You need to use that term to make tangible differences in people’s lives. Otherwise, your time in office will be short-lived.

That’s why I’ve hit the ground sprinting. My first budget expanded the Child Tax Credit and delivered record property tax relief. I’ve signed nation-leading laws to protect our kids online and hold data centers accountable for driving up people’s electric bills.

Under my leadership, we’re investing more than ever in schools and making sure the people impacted by Medicaid and SNAP cuts in H.R. 1 don’t fall through the cracks. At the same time, we’re creating good-paying jobs and making life easier for the small businesses that employ nearly half of our workforce.

I’ve never run campaigns for campaigning’s sake. I run to govern. I’m using my office to drive New Jerseyans’ costs down and improve their lives.

Every day, we’re advancing policies that’ll have an impact long beyond the next election – all while making our case for leadership even stronger.

#5: FIND A WAY OR MAKE ONE

One of the core lessons from my time at the Naval Academy was “find a way or make one.” When faced with a hard problem, you have to find a solution instead of offering excuses.

As I traveled the state during my campaign last year, I kept hearing about out-of-control electricity costs. So, I promised to fix it by declaring a state of emergency on Day One.

In New Jersey, it won’t surprise you, people tell you (loudly and often) what they think. But I was surprised that the loudest naysayers were Democrats.

“It can’t be done.” “That will never work.”

My response: watch me. I stopped my Inauguration to sign an executive order that did exactly as I promised.

People don’t want excuses. They want results. When you take action, you earn their respect.

#6: STAND IN THE BREACH

Real leadership requires taking on the hard problems, instead of hoping and praying they don’t land in your lap.

Earlier this year, I found out about an issue at our Motor Vehicle Commission that took place under my predecessor. Instead of passing the buck or shifting blame, I found it and fixed it.

The same applies to responding to Trump. I’m not going to appease the President or tolerate his attacks on our state. I’m fighting back every single time and winning.

When Trump tried to shut down the nation’s most important infrastructure project, the Gateway Tunnel, I fought back. We’ve beaten him in court five times so far and gotten thousands of workers back on the job.

When Trump tried to build a new ICE detention center in our state, I fought back and won. I did the same when he tried to get our voter data, too.

And I’m working just as hard on the legislative front. After Trump’s handpicked Supreme Court justices gutted the Voting Rights Act and tried to silence the voices of Black voters, I was the first Governor to act, signing the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey. It sets up a legal firewall around the ballot box to protect against Trump’s interference.

Right now, I’m standing in the breach. I won’t bow. I won’t pass the buck. Because the people of New Jersey deserve nothing less.

#7: KEEP WORKING

The final step – as simple as it sounds – is to keep putting points on the board. Nine months into my term as Governor, I’m just as energized to deliver for people as I was on Day One.

I just released a nation-leading plan to build more houses and drive down costs. I’m unleashing new nuclear energy in New Jersey for the first time in 50 years. And I’m executing a plan to help 13,500 more kids get free tutoring in schools.

The work continues after the first 100 days. We need to keep speaking truth to power. And we need to keep taking on the status quo. The American people expect their public servants to be relentless.

I firmly believe that all our problems are solvable. We just need to put in the work to solve them.

So, let’s go win. And then, let’s get to work.