On Sunday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) spoke to CNN's Manu Raju about his campaign to be New Jersey Governor.
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00:00In 2024, New Jersey swung more to the right than almost every other state in the nation.
00:05And now they're holding one of the most important races in this off-cycle year,
00:09a battle to be the next governor. An early referendum on President Trump and the state
00:14of the Democratic Party. Primary day is next Tuesday, and a crowded field of 11 candidates
00:19has spent an eye-popping $77.5 million so far in ads. Joining me now is one of the Democrats
00:27battling for his party's nomination, New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Mr. Gottheimer,
00:31thank you so much for being here on this very busy morning for you. Good to see you. Absolutely.
00:35We have a new poll out this morning that really shows the depths of the problems facing your own
00:41party right now. Just 16% of Americans say Democrats are the party of strong leaders,
00:47and only 19% say the party can get things done. That is far worse than where the GOP stands.
00:54So six months after the last election, why are Democrats still unable to connect with the
01:00American public?
01:03Well, Amano, first of all, thanks again for having me. I think I've been in, I go around
01:07diners all across Jersey because it's Jersey, and we do everything good starts in a diner.
01:11And what I hear from people is a huge focus on economic issues, right? People are struggling,
01:17whether between utility bills and their taxes and food prices and what Trump's doing with this
01:23chaos to setting prices even higher and messing with their retirement savings. So people are
01:28under a huge amount of stress. And what I'm hearing here in Jersey, that's all I can talk about, is
01:33people see what's going on with Trump and the chaos, and they want actually an alternative.
01:37And the key for Democrats, and this is what my whole race is focused on, is actually showing them
01:42that Democrats are focused on making their lives more affordable, getting costs down, getting taxes
01:46down, and showing them a pathway forward where they don't have to have this anxiety,
01:50which I think was why the election last time was so, you know, so close here in Jersey,
01:55and obviously why the ultimate poll didn't go well for Democrats.
01:58But as you have been going around these diners, how damaged is the Democratic brand right now?
02:04Well, I think what they want to hear is that what's our vision? Not just, of course,
02:08that we're taking on Trump, which we are and I am. We got to fight him everywhere. Anytime he messes
02:13with a family here in Jersey, we're standing up to him. But they also want to know where we're going,
02:17what our direction is. And I think that's the key there is all about the economy and showing them
02:22that that's our number one focus. Can you afford to feed your kids, put clothes on their back,
02:27pay your bills, you know, with housing prices and rents where they are? People are really struggling.
02:31And I think our challenge is, and this is, you know, really what I've, that's why I've been so
02:35focused on this, is actually explaining where we're going, how I'm going to lead Jersey to make
02:39people's lives more affordable here, get their costs and taxes down. And I don't think they're getting
02:45that message nationally. It's like, as, as your panel was just saying, I think there's some tension
02:48on actually what our message is going forward. So I could just speak to what I'm talking to people
02:53in Jersey about. And I know it's working because they, that's actually what they engage in. They
02:58want to know, what are you going to do to make sure that I can feed my kids, right? That we're
03:01going to actually fight Trump when he messes with social security or Medicaid or Medicare. And what
03:06are we going to make sure that I can afford to live here and retire here? Do you though,
03:09do you blame Biden for the problems your party is facing right now?
03:15Well, I think there's, I don't know if I blame any one person. I think the key is
03:19making sure that as Democrats, that all of us put finalists on it. It's harder when you're not
03:24in the majority. But the key is, and I think Akeem Jeffries has done a phenomenal job on this,
03:29is where are you leaning forward and what is it about for us? And I think when we get that together
03:34and start speaking about how, where we're going to take the country and making it very clear,
03:37I think you're going to see a lot of Americans grab onto that because what Trump is offering,
03:42right, which is just mass chaos, confusion, whether you're talking about what's going on
03:46at Newark airport or what's happening to Medicaid or their retirement savings, they're panicked about
03:51what he's presenting. The key is for us to actually show our path. That's what we're doing in Jersey
03:56and why I think this election is so important in nine days from now, showing what we're about.
04:01I want to talk about one of the campaign ads that you have run that New Jersey voters are now seeing
04:07across the airwaves made with AI, showing you boxing the president. Watch.
04:13In Congress, Gottheiber got the impossible done, passing infrastructure and gun safety laws
04:18and fighting for Jersey to stop Donald Trump's tariffs and chaos. Now he's ready for the big one.
04:24So you're trying to position yourself as the person fighting, but fighting Trump. But this is a state,
04:30as you mentioned before, it's trended to the right. In fact, a 10-point shift to Trump last year.
04:35So if you do win the nomination next week, do you think that message is what swing voters want to
04:42hear, that you're fighting Trump?
04:46I think two things, Manu. You heard the first part of what you played, which is that we actually get
04:51stuff done, which this president has failed to do, right? You know, I helped negotiate and pass the
04:55infrastructure bill and a bipartisan gun safety bill and expand child tax credit to help pay for
05:00child care. Those are things people in Jersey care about. But yeah, they want to know that their
05:04governor is going to fight when someone comes in and messes with them. By the way, no matter who it
05:09is, and Trump so far has come in and messed with our state. When you gut Medicaid, when you go after
05:14education, the Department of Education, when you go after things we care about and that we value
05:18as a state and as a people, yeah, they want to know that we're going to stand up and fight.
05:22But obviously, as I've got a long record of doing, when you want to work with us, we'll sit down and
05:26talk to you, right, and get things done and solve problems. But let me be clear,
05:30you mess with us, we're going to mess with you back. And they want to know that someone's not
05:34afraid to fight and stand up for us. So one of your competitors, Jersey City Mayor Steve
05:38Fulop, told the New Jersey Monitor this week that Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill, who's also running
05:42in this race, is, quote, a creature of the political establishment. She has the same machine
05:48infrastructure and the same playbook as was run in the last 25 years. Do you agree with that
05:54criticism, Congressman, that Mikey Sherrill is a creature of the political establishment?
05:58I agree that, you know, this is a competitive race. And Steve Fulop, who's actually a product
06:06of the Jersey City machine, where, by the way, rents are the second highest in the country,
06:11and people are really struggling in Jersey City and around the state to try to get costs down.
06:16You know, that's my focus on the issues. And, you know, listen, they're going to,
06:19my opponents are going to keep battling each other, which I think is a mistake. I'm focused on
06:23fighting for the people in Jersey, what I'm going to do for them. And I think that's what we all
06:27should be talking about, how we're going to get costs down, get taxes down, whether that's
06:30childcare costs. And I'm the only one who's actually put out plans to lower taxes and lower
06:34costs, which is, I think, again, what people want to know we're focused on as Democrats,
06:41both in Jersey and nationally. I think, Manu, that's got to be our message. And that's how we
06:45win this race, both in June and November.
06:48And if you don't want to criticize them, but are you worried at all that if one of them wins,
06:53one of your opponents wins, whether it's Mikey Sherrill or New York Mayor Ross Baraka, that
06:59Trump's endorsed candidate, Jack Cittarelli, could win? He lost by only three points in 2021. Are you
07:06worried that one of your Democratic opponents, if they win the primary, could lose to a Republican?
07:10Listen, Manu, I think this is going to be a very tough November for whichever Democrat wins. That's
07:18why I'm best suited for it. I'm the only Democrat who's ever beat a sitting Republican incumbent.
07:23I won my seat, first Democrat in 84 years to hold my seat. And I just won the last election
07:27by 12 points in my district, and Harris only won it by one point. This is going to be a tough November,
07:32and I think we've got to be prepared for that. And that's why New Jersey is going to be so important,
07:36not just, of course, in nine days, but in November. That's why I'm the best one suited to not just win
07:43the primary, but to beat Cittarelli very clearly. All right. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thank you so
07:47much. Well, not at Manu. It'll be a knockout punch, man. A knockout punch. All right. I appreciate you
07:53coming on, sharing your perspective. Thanks so much for your time this morning.