Last night I went to a political rally for a young representative from South Jersey, Andy Kim. He’s in a three-way race in the Democratic Primary for Senate, along with Senator Gold Bar, Robert Menendez, and the Governor’s wife, Tammy Murphy. In an old church, he spoke to a packed audience about his Korean background, opposition to Trump, and outsider status. 

Despite the fact that the Democratic Jersey machine is backing Murphy’s wife, Kim is up by 12 points. Scanning the crowd, I knew many faces in the room and noted the absentees — almost all the elected Democratic officials and other power players in town. A local political activist told me that she was told who to vote for — instructions which she was defiantly ignoring. 

The room was wildly supportive, despite a Pro-Palestinian heckler in the back and Kim’s policy-free speech. The audience was excited to support a young guy, who wasn’t hand chosen for them by the machine. People want a choice, especially as we face the most depressing presidential election in recent history — Old Guy v. Old Guy.

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