Jim Johnson’s Campaign IS Our Movement
So, Why’s He Fighting the Democratic Party To Win Our Nomination?
Why do Democrats lose races we should win? We appeal to the brain and think ourselves into a box. Republicans go for the gut and the heart. They make you fear it or love it. President Obama understood this. We need to start getting it, too.
To win, Democrats have to select candidates who inspire, have great ideas, and can manage. If we can’t figure out how to pick the right candidates pronto, pack up your sneakers because another march won’t make a real difference.
We can’t wait until 2018 to figure this out. We have two statewide elections in 2017 — races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. These governors will be on the frontlines. They will be responsible for protecting their states from Trump’s policies.
For NJ residents, the real action is in the primary on June 6th. If we don’t get help pushing back against the big money, backroom deals Democratic frontrunner now, we won’t have a true progressive option to vote for in November. My predominantly blue state may elect a Republican governor again because we can’t figure out how to choose a Democratic candidate who inspires people to get to the polls for the general election.
Even if you live outside of NJ and VA, you still need to care. Republicans, pundits, and voters are watching us. They want to know if we can translate marches in the streets into electoral change. If Democrats win these big races, we catapult our movement to another level. If we lose, we jeopardize all those races coming up in 2018 and look like suckers in the process.
I’m a Jersey girl through and through. So, I’m going to focus on home. I have two words for you: Jim Johnson.
Jim Johnson is a progressive who can be the first African-American governor of New Jersey. I’m a black woman in the United States so I know that I just made a crucial error. I was upfront about race.
Yet, here I am doing it. Why? I’m going with my heart and gut. I am taking this risk because I hope that you understand that this is more than a unique moment. Jim’s campaign is our movement.
This is why we marched.
Friends, family, and colleagues became activists overnight in November 2016. Many of us could no longer settle or compromise our values. We made signs for social justice. Blogged for our rights and inclusion. Marched for dismantling institutionalized, hierarchical, and silencing structures that oppress the majority. Screamed so loudly and forcefully — until we had to draw in a loud, immediate collective breath— to declare: “This is what democracy looks like!”
You told me online, at coffee, at meetings — sometimes through frustration, sometimes with tears, sometimes with an intensity that surprised and inspired me — “I can’t go back. I can’t keep butting my head up against (or ignoring, or just trying to navigate through) this oppression. Identity. Who we are matters. I must have more!”
You stood at microphones in town halls and at meetings. You expressly demanded that our Democratic Party encourage more people of color, women, and other marginalized groups to run for elected office at every local, state, and federal level. But, here’s the problem. It’s not enough to say it. We must vote for these candidates when they step out and answer this call.
Candidates from traditionally marginalized communities won’t continue to run if people keep finding ways to vote for what’s always been. These candidates want to become public servants. They’re not doing this just to make a statement or to play a role straight out of diverse central casting so that we can feel comfortable with the optics.
Too few make decisions for so many.
Democrats traditionally win with numbers — not by outspending Republicans. Outside of presidential races, most people don’t vote in primaries or general elections without a whole lot of inspiration.
We have to stop selecting candidates in vacuums. We have to think about our competition. In NJ, the Republican frontrunner is a military mom, former prosecutor, sheriff, and our state’s first Lt. Governor (Christie’s number two). She is candy for Republican voters and they will eat her up.
Let’s take Jim out of our minds for a moment. Who do we have as the more prominent Democratic candidates? We have a Goldman Sachs banker (shrouded in genuine objections against big money and backroom political deals). Or, we have a career politician (whose recent aspirational single payer bill hasn’t faced the challenges of similar bills previously introduced). How do either of these candidates drive apathetic voters to the polls?
Marching and protesting on the federal level does not erase our state voting obligations. Only 11% of registered Democrats voted in the NJ gubernatorial primary in 2013. Low numbers translate into the most loyal voters (often older and more conservative) selecting our Party candidate. If we don’t go to the polls in June and Party loyalists simply go with the anointed candidate, we’re in serious trouble in November.
The Democratic Party can’t expect the more progressive voices in our Party to continue to backburner demands for social justice and inclusion. How many times can the Party ask people to sacrifice their values and “get in line” before voters choose another line? I’m a loyal Democratic Party voter. If I see a problem and you don’t, your head’s in the sand. Republicans win if they stay loyal and we stay home.
Why Jim?
Jim inspires me to think bigger than just my family and community. He encourages me to dream of a stronger New Jersey that takes care of its own. He motivates me to envision a fighter who can navigate the tumultuous waters of needing federal support while also protecting us from federal efforts to erode our rights and impose so much hate. He pushes me to think about how we can unite and work together to confront the corruption that burdens our state and wastes too much of our resources.
I first met Jim early in his run. He was unassuming and quiet. I watched him stand in a corner so a resident could privately share her concerns. His intensity was palpable as he placed his hand on her arm as a sign of comfort. Another politician flitted around the room like a butterfly, thrusting his hand out at every person in his path and moving on quickly. He knew that the game is about quantity not quality.
However, it’s clear when you meet Jim that his run for governor stems from an overwhelming desire to serve and to push back against the political cruelty and dysfunction consuming our country. Jim still seems genuinely honored that people from so many cultures and socio-economic backgrounds have felt comfortable sharing their pain, fears, and hopes with him.
Jim and his family embody much of the change we want to see.
Now, here are some facts about Jim Johnson for my more cerebral Democrats who can’t go with their guts yet. I generally support candidates who have a history of advocating and fighting for the issues that I care about — as opposed to those who conveniently share my views during the race. Jim’s seen our problems from so many different angles: the public, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors.
Son of a Marine veteran and a teacher, Jim is a Jersey boy. His family went through hardship and the memory of a foreclosure sign on his family home has driven him to fight for the people.
Jim attended Harvard Law School, served as a federal prosecutor, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Treasury where he led the investigation of a rash of church bombings, and Under Secretary of Treasury where he oversaw and managed budgets of one-third of federal law enforcement. He was the Chair of the Board for the Brennan Center for Justice and helped litigate cases focusing on criminal justice reform, voter protection, and assisted families facing foreclosure.
Jim and his family embody much of the change we want to see. His wife, Nancy Northup, is the President of the Center for Reproductive Rights and is a force on her own. I would be proud to call her the First Lady of NJ. Their family also reflects so much of how our society will be in the future.
Jim told the New York Times: “My children are black. My stepchildren are not. And you have within our family Jews, the descendants of a soldier in Hitler’s army, a descendant of the Mayflower, and the descendants of people who were stolen from Africa and came right off the Middle Passage, and we’re all at the same table after multiple generations within the United States. And we have to confront that not only because of the different ways we see the world with different ways the world sees us.”
Time to reject old and recycled arguments against change.
Of course, Democrats have argued against my support for Jim. I’ve had a progressive clad in Bernie buttons tell me that Jim should “wait his turn” in line and serve as NJ’s number two. Therefore, I should put my energy behind the white career politician now.
Liberals who denounced Trump for buying the Presidency now support the big money candidate who has poured millions into his campaign. Black elites have told me to get on board and vote for this big money frontrunner — not because he will do the best for our communities where people are seriously struggling, but because they don’t want to risk not supporting him.
Some Democrats have shrugged their shoulders and told me that Jim can’t win because the Party already anointed this same big money candidate. Other Democrats tell me that they need Jim to be more vocal on one specific issue important to them: “He’s good on this issue, but I need him to be even better.” Of course, white candidates often pay lip service to issues I care about and say vaguely that they care. Candidates of color, on the other hand, must be vocal on all important issues. It’s not enough for them just to care.
My big problem with all of these arguments and critiques? Many of you told me all of this before Obama won Iowa and then state after state to win the 2008 Democratic Primary. I won’t let you retreat back to those arguments without making sure that we all see what’s happening: fear of breaking from the status quo and politics as we understand it.
I’ve been shoulder to shoulder with you for too many months. You made me believe in you. You made me hope. I refuse to believe that this was all temporary or that I got played.
We must believe in our own power.
I’m tired of feeling beaten up by Trump and his sycophants and minions. I’m fed up with dreading the news. I don’t want to march another step unless I feel like I can rely on my allies to see me fully as a black woman and embrace that identity shapes my views and expands what I can offer society — not subtract from it.
If NJ progressive Democrats win the primary and general races, we help other states win their races throughout the country. We have one chance. We can’t wait for “an Iowa” to make Jim okay or possible. We have to step out in faith — in our belief — and not by sight. So, we must believe in our collective strength now.
I believe in you. I envision you joining us to knock on doors and making calls to get the word out to NJ voters. I trust that you will recognize the importance of donating to Jim just as you did for Ossoff, Thompson, and Quist.
I believe in my fellow NJ voters. We will see Jim’s combination of political, nonprofit, and for profit experience as strengths. We will reject arguments that we can only choose a big money candidate or a career politician. Instead, we will reach out to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers to get them to vote for Jim. We will donate to help Jim and his team put up more lawn signs and hand out fliers. We will volunteer to get out the vote.
I trust that if we work together, we can select a progressive (and first) African-American leader to run as the Democratic nominee for governor of New Jersey. There’s so much room in this primary race because over 50% of voters are still undecided. A leading Democratic pollster found that when people learn about Jim, he wins. We just have to get the word out. This primary NOT the general is our most difficult battle. Once we come together here, we can fight against the Republican candidate and win.
I want you to join me in believing what others have called “impossible” because we’ve proven them wrong before. We just have to unite and believe that this dream is possible for these last days and especially on June 6th.
Let go of what’s stopping you. Square your shoulders back. Draw in a deep and purposeful breath. Throw your fist up. And, step forward with me!
Volunteer by contacting Jordan Fox — jordan@jimjohnson4governor.com or click here. Donate today!
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