00:00So one of your competitors, Jersey City Mayor Steve Phillip, told the New Jersey Monitor this week that Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill, who's also running in this race, is, quote, a creature of the political establishment.
00:11She has the same machine infrastructure and the same playbook as was run in the last 25 years.
00:16Do you agree with that criticism, Congressman, that Mikey Sherrill is a creature of the political establishment?
00:22I agree that, you know, this is a competitive race and Steve Phillip, who's actually a product of the Jersey City machine, where, by the way, rents are the second highest in the country and people are really struggling in Jersey City and around the state to try to get costs down.
00:40You know, that's my focus on the issues. And, you know, listen, they're going to my opponents are going to keep battling each other, which I think is a mistake.
00:46I'm focused on fighting for the people in Jersey, what I'm going to do for them.
00:50And I think that's what we all should be talking about, how we're going to get costs down, get taxes down, whether that's child care costs.
00:55And I'm the only one who's actually put out plans to lower taxes and lower costs, which is, I think, again, what people want to know we're focused on as Democrats, both in Jersey and nationally.
01:07I think, Manu, that's got to be our message. And that's how we win this race, both in June and November.
01:12And if you don't want to criticize them, but are you worried at all that if one of them wins, one of your opponents wins, whether it's Mikey Sherrill or New York Mayor Ross Baraka, that Trump's endorsed candidate, Jack Cittarelli, could win?
01:27He lost by only three points in 2021. Are you worried that one of your Democratic opponents, if they win the primary, could lose to a Republican?
01:35Listen, Manu, I think this is going to be a very tough November for whichever Democrat wins.
01:42That's why I'm best suited for it. I'm the only Democrat who's ever beat a sitting Republican incumbent.
01:47I won my seat, first Democrat in 84 years to hold my seat.
01:50And I just won the last election by 12 points in my district, and Harris only won it by one point.
01:55This is going to be a tough November, and I think we've got to be prepared for that.
01:58And that's why New Jersey is going to be so important, not just, of course, in nine days, but in November.
02:04That's why I'm the best one suited to not just win the primary, but to beat Cittarelli very clearly.
02:10All right. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thank you so much.
02:11We'll knock a mano. It'll be a knockout punch, man. A knockout punch.
02:15All right. I appreciate you coming on and sharing your perspective.
