For the upcoming New Jersey primary on June 7, 25-year-old progressive Alex Law is campaigning to replace U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross in New Jersey’s first congressional district.
He may be young, but he knows South Jersey pretty well after 25 years living there.
For the upcoming New Jersey primary on June 7, 25-year-old progressive Alex Law is campaigning to replace U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross in New Jersey’s first congressional district.
Law grew up in South Jersey, mainly Voorhees, though he is a fourth-generation Collingswood Democrat, where his grandfather was once the mayor.
Law — an Eastern High School and New York University Stern School of Business graduate — started this campaign by thinking of where this district has been and where he wants it to go.
He recalled watching then-U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, who was ultimately forced to resign due to the improper use of campaign funds, and now Norcross.
“We saw the political realities of Donald Norcross taking his place with an incredible amount of cronyism and graft and corruption,” he said. “Rather than sitting at home and complaining about the things that we don’t like in our democracy, we said, ‘Let’s get out there and actually do something about it.’”
So Law has based his campaign on talking directly to voters at farmers’ markets or right at their front doors.
The campaign now has more than 150 volunteers, according to Law, and they have made more than 45,000 phone calls and knocked on 83,000 doors — 13,000 personally in all 52 towns within the district — which he hopes will reach 100,000 by the election.
“That’s something that is really exciting to us,” he added. “We’ve taken this campaign and made it about people. We went and talked to folks one door at a time, one conversation at a time. And we’ve been able to push back against one of the most powerful political machines on the East Coast.”
Law hopes to offer superior policy solutions, which he said he has more of than any other person running for Congress across the country, as well as a more honest sense of leadership.
“Mr. Norcross is someone who has demonstrated in his one term in Congress that he is committed to voting with Republicans,” Law said, adding that he has spent less than $70,000 on his campaign compared with Norcross’ $1 million. “He has voted with Republicans more than any other Democrat in that state of New Jersey on almost every single major controversial bill since he’s been in Congress.
“He’s voted against the president, against the Democratic Party, in a district that has more than 175,000 Democrats and only 60,000 Republicans. I do not believe he’s reflecting the interests of those he’s supposed to be representing.”
Overall, he hopes to improve legislation passed in his district.
“It’s the only place in the United States of America — New Jersey’s first district — the only place that has not had a single bill written by a representative of this district become a law in my lifetime, not since Jim Florio was representing the district,” said Law, who also supports the Iran deal and endorses Bernie Sanders.
The newly turned 25-year-old, if elected, would also become the youngest congressman since 1974, which he thinks plays in his favor.
“With no true millennials in Congress, I think it’s going to be a huge strength when we win this election,” he said, adding that millennials make up one-third of the voting population.
“Folks in Congress are looking to reach and relate to millennials, [so] they might see my office and working with me on legislation as a potential way to do that.”
Of his 21 policies listed on his website — ranging from campaign finance reform and human rights to increasing the minimum wage and ending the wage gap — he also supports a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Law — who became a bar mitzvah and was confirmed at Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill — went on a Birthright Israel trip in 2014 and has shared many conversations with friends who have lived or now live in Israel, and he thinks many people would agree that a two-state solution is the only long-term option for sustained peace.
Although going about it is more complex, Law believes many Palestinians, for instance, do not want to be a part of Palestine because they enjoy living in Israel as opposed to a country governed by Islamic law.
But his time in Israel was definitely well spent, calling it some of the most amazing days of his life.
“It’s why we’ve reached out to the Jewish community directly,” he said. “We’ve been to a few synagogues to talk with folks about this election. It’s something that was a big part of my childhood, not just through Bar Mitzvahed but through confirmation. So I think my Jewish heritage is very important.
“This campaign has really been based on something that President Teddy Roosevelt said over 100 years ago, that when we rule ourselves, we have the responsibility of sovereigns, not of subjects. And I think this is an idea that Jewish people can relate to particularly well because through our history we have had to struggle and fight for our sovereignty, whether the creation of Israel or in having a political voice wherever we live.
“It is so very important that here in South Jersey, where many have felt like we have no say in government, that our government continues to make decisions that are not in any way based on the things that we wanted to do; that this campaign is striving to make sure that we all have a voice, that there is no bullying in government, something that we as Jewish people are very sensitive to. And that we have the absolute best representation that keeps in mind what people want, what the Jewish community wants, and I think that’s what our campaign is offering.”
Contact: [email protected]; 215-832-0737
