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nonjudgmental guide so you can vote with confidence this year
every election, New Jersey politicians arrive with their sleeves rolled up and their mouths full of “working families” this and "i love humanity" that. then the mailers come. then the flags. then the photographs inside diners they have never visited before and may never visit again. the corny commercials.
we are supposed to see all of that, choose a team and stop asking questions. smoke and mirrors, baby, smoke and mirrors.
this guide takes a different approach. what have these candidates actually done? what do they say they will do? who is paying for the campaign? have they taken money from AIPAC or other pro-Israel political groups? when they say “affordability,” whose bills are they talking about?
money does not automatically prove that a politician was bought. it does tell us who decided that politician was worth investing in. that is info voters deserve to have.
before we get to the candidates, we need to look at the places they are asking to represent.
let us start right here in beautiful south jersey
poverty:
the federal poverty line does not come close to describing the actual cost of being alive in New Jersey.
inside Atlantic City, 32.3% of residents live below the official poverty line. the city’s median household income is only $41,028, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/atlanticcitycitynewjersey/PST045225)
but even those numbers leave out thousands of people who are technically above poverty and still cannot reliably afford rent, groceries, healthcare, transportation, child care, electricity, and one bad Tuesday.
that is where the ALICE numbers come in. ALICE stands for asset limited, income constrained, employed. these are households earning more than the federal poverty level but less than the basic cost of living where they actually live.
according to United For ALICE:
38% of Atlantic County households are ALICE
another 11% are living in poverty
together, 49% of Atlantic County households fall below the ALICE threshold
nearly half of atlantic county cannot comfortably afford the basics. which probably isn't a huge shock to most of you, i mean i certainly can't afford the basics. nor can most of my homies.
statewide, 30% of households are ALICE and another 10% are in poverty. altogether, 39% of New Jersey households are struggling to meet the basic cost of living.
in Atlantic County, United For ALICE estimates that one adult needs about $40,560 a year just to cover a survival budget. two adults raising an infant and a preschooler in child care need about $111,684. that budget does not include a vacation, college savings, retirement, or some glamorous little emergency fund. it is the price of keeping the lights on, the children fed, the car moving, and everyone more or less alive.
New Jersey's statewide minimum wage is $15.92 per hour for most workers, effective January 1, 2026.
Current Rates by Category
Most Employees: $15.92 per hour
Seasonal and Small Employers (fewer than 6 employees): $15.23 per hour
Agricultural Workers: $14.20 per hour
Tipped Workers: $6.05 per hour (cash wage)
Long-Term Care Facility Direct Staff: $18.92 per hour
hunger:
the fridge and the digestive tract does not care whether somebody is technically above the poverty line.
Feeding America estimates that 1,239,340 New Jersey residents experienced food insecurity in 2024, or 13% of the state. among children, the rate was 16.1%, roughly one in six.
in Atlantic County, the estimated rate was 14.8%, representing about 40,810 people.
food-insecure New Jersey residents faced an estimated $920 million food-budget shortfall that year. that is the additional money families needed, but did not have, to meet their food needs.
the statewide number has nearly doubled since 2020 and at this rate, i for one am not looking positively into the future.
if you are food insecure, please check out this guide on how to handle it: https://www.divinghorseac.com/post/help-is-here-a-new-jersey-family-resource-guide
data centers:
data centers are being sold to nj towns as economic development: tax revenue, construction work, new technology, the glowing future arriving on a cleared piece of land. the other side of the bargain is electricity, water, noise, transmission infrastructure, tax incentives, and relatively few permanent jobs once construction ends.
a May 2026 Stockton University poll found:
56% of New Jersey voters would support banning data centers in their own town
49% believe data centers do more harm than good
only 8% believe they benefit the communities where they are built
84% want data centers required to provide their own new sources of power
72% oppose giving technology companies tax breaks or subsidies to build them
nationally, Gallup found that 71% of Americans oppose an AI data center in their community. more people opposed a local data center than a local nuclear power plant.
then there is the grid. and i know we are ALL feeling this one. PJM, the regional electricity market that includes New Jersey, saw capacity prices rise from $28.92 per megawatt-day in 2024-2025 to $269.92 in 2025-2026. the independent market monitor estimated that data-center demand accounted for 63% of that increase, representing approximately $9.3 billion in additional regional costs.
that does not mean every dollar added to your electric bill came from a data center. electricity pricing is a swamp of generation costs, transmission charges, utility decisions, regulation, and regional market rules. a Rutgers analysis did not find a large, statistically reliable local bill increase from data centers through 2024.
but the next generation of AI facilities is much larger, much thirstier, and much hungrier for power. if the rules are not written now, ordinary ratepayers may be left holding the extension cord.
on august 27, Mullica Township published an ordinance establishing a six-month moratorium on data-center development while its planning board and environmental commission study the issue.
so when a candidate says “economic development,” ask the necessary rude questions. who gets the tax break? who pays for the substation? how much water will it use? how many permanent jobs will exist when the construction crews leave?
important voting information!!!!!!
i am a news, art and culture publication, not a government agency and we cannot tell you which church basement or municipal building contains your particular voting machine.
use the official New Jersey voter information portal to:
check your registration
find your polling place
locate early-voting sites
request or track a mail ballot
find a secure ballot drop box
view your municipal voting information
election day is tuesday, november 3, 2026. polls are open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m.
U.S. Senate
Every New Jersey voter will see this race. The winner serves a six-year term and votes on federal laws, presidential appointments, judges, treaties, and the federal budget.
how the senate actually works (unfortunately)
before we look at the people running, let’s look at the machine they want to climb into.
the u.s. senate is supposed to be the "deliberative body" mening tyhhe place where cooler heads prevail, state interests are balanced, and raw public panic gets filtered through six-year terms. because senators serve six-year stretches, the founders figured they would be insulated from the daily political winds and able to think long-term.
in practice, a six-year term means senators have four years to forget who voted for them and spend their time wining and dining private equity executives, pharmaceutical lobbyists, and defense contractors, followed by two years of hyper-focused performative panic when they actually have to run commercials in diners.
with only 100 people in the entire room—two from every state, whether you're california or a stretch of dirt with three million cows—the senate concentrates an absurd amount of power into very few hands. it is where federal judges get rubber-stamped, trillion-dollar military budgets sail through with bipartisan applause, and any meaningful progressive legislation goes to die in a filibuster.
lol so without further adieu here are the people running:
Cory Booker, Democratic, incumbent
the pitch: civil rights, abortion rights, affordable housing, criminal-justice reform, lower prescription-drug costs, climate action and protection for Social Security and Medicare.
the record: Booker helped negotiate the bipartisan First Step Act, which changed federal sentencing and prison policy. he voted against the 2025 budget law that cut Medicaid and SNAP while expanding immigration enforcement and extending tax breaks. his proposed Keep Your Pay Act would sharply increase the standard deduction, expand tax credits for working families and raise taxes on corporations and high earners.
the money: federal filings show approximately $23.1 million in campaign cash on hand as of june 30, 2026. Track AIPAC attributes more than $850,000 in career support to pro-Israel political groups, including AIPAC. in march 2026, Booker said he would stop accepting contributions from “single-issue ideological PACs.” that changes what he may accept going forward. it does not return the money already collected.
the Wall Street connection
in 2018, Booker pledged to reject corporate PAC money. the pledge sounds cleaner than the system actually is. executives, partners and board members can still donate personally, host fundraisers and introduce candidates to other wealthy donors.
during the opening months of his 2020 presidential campaign, employees of four major private-equity firms contributed at least $49,500, including $10,200 from people connected to Blackstone. Forbes found that 45 billionaires and billionaire spouses had donated to the campaign, many of them from finance and investments. this is not illegal briefcase corruption. it is the respectable kind, disclosed in government filings and defended as political participation that never sees the light of day.
Booker’s comfort with the industry was made plain in 2012, when the Obama campaign attacked Matt Romney’s record at Bain Capital. Booker went on Meet the Press, called attacks on private equity “nauseating” and told Democrats to stop attacking the industry. he issued a rapid clarification, but the original instinct was revealing.
Newark, 2006 to 2013
Booker inherited a city in deep financial distress and succeeded in bringing national attention, philanthropic money and major development into downtown Newark. Panasonic relocated more than 1,000 employees there, although the move was supported by approximately $102 million in state tax incentives. his record outside the ribbon cuttings is more complicated.
in 2010, Booker and Governor Chris Christie appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to announce a $100 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, later matched with another $100 million, to remake Newark’s schools.
roughly $20 million went to consultants, some reportedly billing $1,000 a day. parents, teachers and principals were largely excluded from the early planning. Teachers College at Columbia University described a process imposed on Newark with almost no meaningful local input.
later research found a more mixed result than the word “disaster” suggests. student growth initially fell during the disruption, then improved in English by the fifth year, while math showed no significant gain. much of the english improvement came from moving students into higher-performing district and charter schools. the study is available through the NBER.
some students benefited. the process was still top-down, expensive and contemptuous of the people whose children were being used as the experiment and cearly was being used as a way to divert funds meant for childrens into the hands of the wealthy. .
Booker’s administration also failed to adequately oversee the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corporation. the agency became the center of a corruption scandal involving kickbacks, fraudulent contracts and reckless spending. Booker appointed its board and served as chair.
that scandal did not directly cause Newark’s later lead-water crisis, which involved aging service lines and failed corrosion control after Booker left office. the accurate charge is bad enough: the public agency responsible for Newark’s water was being looted while city oversight was nearly nonexistent.
the senate record
in 2017, Booker voted against a nonbinding amendment supporting the importation of cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, citing inadequate safety standards. critics saw the explanation as an industry talking point, particularly given New Jersey’s enormous pharmaceutical sector and Booker’s history of support from people connected to it.
the reversal came faster than the legend now suggests. less than seven weeks later, Booker joined Bernie Sanders in supporting a revised importation bill with added safety requirements. voters can read that as a legitimate policy distinction, political damage control or both. Vox documented the sequence.
Booker also deserves real credit for helping pass the First Step Act. the law made earlier crack-cocaine sentencing reforms retroactive, reduced some mandatory penalties, expanded opportunities for release and restricted juvenile solitary confinement in federal custody. it did not end mass incarceration, but it produced concrete relief for thousands of people. his baby-bonds proposal is another serious piece of his record. the American Opportunity Accounts Act would create a federally funded account for every child, with larger annual contributions for children from lower-income families. the money could eventually be used for education, a home or a business.
the question: Booker has real accomplishments and some genuinely structural ideas. he has also spent his career cultivating wealthy donors and remaining comfortable with private equity, pharmaceutical power and pro-Israel lobbying groups. the question is not whether he cares about social and racial inequality. he plainly does. the question is what happens when justice reaches the property line of his donor class and where does th equality stop and end if you're below that poverty line?
Justin Murphy, Republican, bookers challenger
the pitch: lower taxes, less federal spending, parental control of education, stricter immigration enforcement, gun rights, domestic energy production and a permanent version of DOGE.
the background: Murphy is an attorney, Navy veteran and former member of the Tabernacle Township Committee, where he served from 2001 through 2003. he previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008 and 2010, then finished third in New Jersey’s 2024 Republican senate primary. in june 2026, he won the Republican nomination with roughly one-third of the primary vote.
the money: this is not a Wall Street campaign. federal filings show $27,315 in total receipts through june 30, 2026, including approximately $21,484 from individuals and $4,932 Murphy loaned the campaign himself. after spending almost all of it, the campaign reported just $122.51 in cash and $8,782 in debt. Booker had more than $23 million available on the same date. David and Goliath had a more balanced production budget.
the economic plan
Murphy wants to abolish the IRS and the existing federal tax code, replacing them with a flat income-tax rate of approximately 10% to 12%. he would also eliminate capital-gains taxes, estate taxes and the alternative minimum tax.
he describes this as relief for working people. the largest direct benefits from eliminating capital-gains and estate taxes, however, would flow to people who already possess substantial investments and inherited wealth.
Murphy has not published a complete estimate showing how much revenue his system would collect, which deductions would survive or how the government would replace the revenue lost by eliminating taxes on capital gains and large estates. he also supports a constitutional balanced-budget amendment and making DOGE permanent, but does not identify the programs he would cut deeply enough to make the numbers meet (at least that i see, please if someone has the stats and data hit me with it).
that missing arithmetic matters. Murphy also promises to protect Medicare, strengthen the military and secure both borders. once those large commitments are protected, the pressure lands on Medicaid, SNAP, education, housing and the rest of the domestic budget.
abolishing the Department of Education
Murphy wants to eliminate the federal Department of Education and divide its approximately $100 billion budget equally among local school boards, with the money supporting public schools and private-school vouchers.
the proposal does not explain what happens to federal programs currently administered through the department, including Title I funding for low-income schools, special-education support, Pell Grants, student loans and civil-rights enforcement.
an equal division among school districts would also ignore enrollment and poverty. a small affluent district and a large city district could receive the same amount despite serving radically different numbers of children with radically different needs.
Murphy calls parental rights “the civil-rights issue of our time.” his platform accuses the political left of sexualizing children, supports school vouchers and says parents should control what their children are taught. the language is loud. the administrative plan underneath it remains remarkably thin.
healthcare
Murphy says he wants universal healthcare coverage but opposes government-run healthcare. his plan relies on privately owned health-savings accounts, insurance sales across state lines and increased fraud enforcement in Medicare and Medicaid.
he supports keeping Medicare and Medicaid. he does not propose another public program for uninsured people, nor does his platform explain how someone living paycheck to paycheck is supposed to accumulate enough money in a savings account to survive cancer, childbirth or a serious accident.
a health-savings account is useful when there is money left to save. for the 49% of Atlantic County households already below the ALICE threshold, that is a rather important footnote.
abortion, IVF and LGBTQ rights
Murphy says life begins at conception. he supports abortion exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, but opposes public funding for abortion and supports parental-notification requirements.
in his 2026 candidate questionnaire, Murphy said he opposes conventional IVF because he believes viable alternatives exist. he also said marriage should legally remain between one man and one woman, criticized the Supreme Court decision establishing same-sex marriage and described gender transition for minors as “demonic child abuse” that should carry civil and criminal penalties.
these are not vague gestures toward family values. they are explicit proposals to use federal power against abortion access, conventional fertility treatment, transgender healthcare and marriage equality.
immigration, guns and energy
Murphy supports completing the southern border wall, expanding security along the Canadian border, using the military at the border and allowing state and local police to participate in federal immigration enforcement. he wants federal funding withheld from sanctuary jurisdictions and supports requiring documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
he supports permitless concealed carry, commonly called constitutional carry, and opposes additional federal restrictions on firearms.
on energy, Murphy supports expanded oil and gas production and a major increase in nuclear power. he says he would only support extraction projects conducted responsibly, while also promising to keep the Jersey Shore “windmill free.” he talks about protecting the Pinelands, but his platform does not explain how aggressively expanding extraction and energy infrastructure would coexist with that promise.
Israel, AIPAC and military aid
Murphy’s position here is more complicated than the standard Republican line.
he describes Israel as an important strategic ally and says cooperation between Israel and the United States contributes to stability in the Middle East. at the same time, Murphy has stated that he will not accept support from AIPAC and would not vote to continue arming Benjamin Netanyahu.
i found no reported AIPAC support in his current campaign-finance summary. given that the entire campaign raised only about $27k, there is not much room for a hidden donor empire anyway.
his opposition to funding Netanyahu is a meaningful break from both Booker and much of the national Republican establishment. it should be included plainly, even though other parts of Murphy’s platform call for a military capable of fighting two wars simultaneously and take a broadly interventionist view of American power.
the record problem
Murphy’s only elected service was one three-year term in Tabernacle that ended more than two decades ago. there is little accessible documentation showing a substantial legislative record from that period.
that does not make him unqualified by itself. it does mean voters are being asked to judge him almost entirely by promises. he has never had to vote on Medicaid, war funding, abortion, Social Security, federal education or a trillion-dollar budget.
the question: Murphy offers voters a clear list of institutions and rights he wants to restrict, abolish or overturn. he offers considerably less detail about what would replace them, how it would be funded and who would be left standing when the cuts were finished. is this a workable governing program, or a demolition plan with “affordability” written across the front?
Veronica Fernandez, End the Corruption!, independent progressive
the pitch: overturn Citizens United, establish publicly financed elections, enact Medicare for All, abolish ICE, create a faster path to citizenship and end American military support for Israel’s assault on Palestinians.
the background: Fernandez is a lifelong New Jersey resident, former insurance underwriter and co-owner of a small commercial electrical-contracting company that has operated as both a private business and an IBEW Local 102 union shop. she has been a foster parent, raised two adopted children and has spoken publicly about navigating services for a child with special needs. she also openly discusses surviving childhood abuse and alcoholism, entering recovery in 1988 and remaining sober since.
the electoral record: Fernandez has never held elected office. she lost local races in Washington Township in 2017, 2018 and 2019. she ran for U.S. Senate in 2020, receiving 32,290 votes, or 0.73% statewide. she withdrew from a 2022 congressional campaign. in 2023, she ran for the New Jersey Assembly under the “End the Corruption!” slogan and received 8.1% in her district.
campaign finance is the whole ball game
Fernandez argues that nearly every major policy failure begins with the way campaigns are financed. her central proposal is a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United, followed by publicly financed elections that would reduce candidates’ dependence on wealthy donors and private interest groups.
this diagnosis is one of the clearest in the race. Congress routinely tries to regulate industries whose executives and political committees finance congressional campaigns. even where no explicit bargain exists, the system ensures that elected officials spend an astonishing amount of time around people with money.
Fernandez’s campaign website says she answers to voters rather than large donors or special interests. her 2020 Senate campaign raised only $12,633, with no corporate or other political-committee contributions reported.
however, i could not locate an active 2026 campaign committee or current fundraising total in the FEC database as of august 28. that may mean the campaign has not crossed the federal reporting threshold or that its paperwork has not yet appeared in the system. it is not evidence of corruption. it does mean that voters cannot currently inspect a full 2026 donor list.
for a campaign built almost entirely around financial transparency, publishing current receipts voluntarily would be a very good place to begin.
healthcare
Fernandez supports Medicare for All and argues that private health insurers are unnecessary middlemen whose business model depends on collecting premiums while limiting care. unlike candidates who discuss healthcare as an abstract market, she worked as a licensed property, casualty and health-insurance underwriter for approximately 20 years.
her criticism is also personal. Fernandez has described paying more than $2,000 a month for family health insurance, then being denied coverage for a prescription ordered by her doctor. she says universal healthcare would reduce both healthcare spending and taxes. that second claim needs more precision. Medicare for All proposals generally replace premiums, deductibles and employer insurance costs with some form of taxation. many working and middle-income households could spend less overall, but saying taxes would simply go down skips the actual financing mechanism.
the moral case is clear. the payment plan still deserves numbers and more thought imo but nothing that can't be worked out.
immigration
Fernandez supports abolishing ICE, closing immigration-detention centers and establishing a fast-tracked path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have not committed more serious crimes.
this is one of the most expansive immigration positions in the race. it is also presently more of a destination than an administrative map. abolishing an agency does not abolish the government’s responsibilities at the border, in immigration courts or in processing asylum and citizenship applications.
Fernandez should explain which agencies would inherit those responsibilities, what enforcement would remain and how a new system would avoid recreating ICE under another collection of initials.
Palestine, Israel and AIPAC
Fernandez calls Israel’s treatment of Palestinians a genocide and directly connects continued American military support to AIPAC’s influence over Congress. she says she accepts no AIPAC money and wants money currently spent on weapons redirected toward healthcare, education, housing and childcare in the United States.
i found no evidence that she has received AIPAC or other pro-Israel PAC support.
her position is considerably more direct than Booker’s. she is not merely asking for conditions, pauses or better oversight. she is challenging both the military policy and the campaign-finance machinery protecting it.
where the platform gets thin
Fernandez’s 2026 candidate survey identifies other priorities including living wages, childcare, gun safety, environmental protection and social justice. the public platform offers few specific bills, funding formulas or implementation plans for those issues.
this is the central weakness of the campaign. Fernandez has a coherent explanation for why government does not work, but less detail about what she would do once the donor money was removed. overturning Citizens United would alter campaign finance. it would not, by itself, write a housing bill, build renewable infrastructure, fund childcare or determine a living wage.
her lack of elected experience is not automatically disqualifying. the Senate already contains plenty of experienced people who have become extremely skilled at accomplishing nothing. but outsider status is not a substitute for legislative preparation either.
the question: Fernandez understands that legalized money can corrupt public priorities without anyone passing an envelope beneath a table. she also speaks more plainly about Palestine, private insurance and immigration than either major-party candidate. can she turn that moral clarity into legislation detailed enough to survive contact with Congress, or does “end the corruption” remain a diagnosis waiting for a treatment plan?
Joanne Kuniansky, Socialist Workers Party
the pitch: organize workers independently of both major parties, strengthen unions, tie wages to inflation, create a federal public-works program, defend abortion rights, grant amnesty to undocumented workers and ultimately replace capitalist government with a workers-and-farmers government.
the background: Kuniansky joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1977 after organizing against the Vietnam War and for Black rights, abortion decriminalization and the Equal Rights Amendment. she has worked in oil refineries, railroads, meatpacking and a Walmart deli. she has joined picket lines with nurses, longshore workers, flight attendants and other union workers around New Jersey.
the electoral record: Kuniansky is a frequent candidate but has never held elected office. she received 4,012 votes for governor in 2021, 894 votes for Congress in 2022, 821 votes for state senate in 2023 and 9,806 votes, or 0.2%, in the 2024 U.S. Senate election. she ran for governor again in 2025 and received 8,164 votes.
the money: available campaign-finance databases list no reportable 2026 receipts, corporate PAC contributions or independent spending supporting Kuniansky. the campaign gathered 3,010 petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. there is no AIPAC money, billionaire donor circle or private-equity subplot here. the campaign appears to run primarily on volunteers, newspaper sales, books, shoe leather and an apparently supernatural tolerance for parking-lot conversations.
the working-class program
Kuniansky supports automatic cost-of-living increases so wages, pensions and public benefits rise whenever prices rise. she argues that workers should not have to negotiate the same raise repeatedly while inflation quietly eats yesterday’s contract. she also supports shortening the workweek without reducing pay and creating a federally funded public-works program paying union-scale wages. the program would employ people to construct and repair housing, schools, hospitals, childcare centers, roads and public transportation.
these are among the most concrete economic ideas in the Senate race. they are aimed directly at the problem described by the ALICE numbers: people are already working, sometimes at two jobs, and the paycheck still does not cover the price of being alive.
Kuniansky does not believe these reforms will be secure under capitalism. her party statement argues that workers must leave the Democratic and Republican parties, build a labor party based on unions and eventually replace capitalist rule with a workers-and-farmers government. (three hours spent clicking round on opensecrets.org and u will get her point if that is shocking to you.)
what would a workers-and-farmers government actually be?
the campaign speaks clearly about who should hold power but provides considerably less information about how that power would operate. there is no detailed transition plan explaining what would happen to private businesses, farms, homes, banks, retirement accounts or state and local governments. the campaign praises the Cuban Revolution as an example of workers taking political power, but does not explain which parts of Cuba’s political and economic system it would reproduce in the United States, which parts it would reject or how political dissent would be protected.
“workers should control society” is an argument. it is not yet a constitution, a budget or an administrative manual.
this matters especially in a Senate race. one senator cannot replace capitalism through legislation. Kuniansky is unusually honest that her campaigns are primarily intended to organize workers and build a revolutionary movement, rather than simply win office and bargain over amendments.
voters should understand that they are being asked to support a movement and worldview, not a conventional six-year Senate agenda.
labor and affordability
Kuniansky’s strongest qualification is that she has spent much of her life doing the kind of work politicians usually encounter only during heavily photographed factory tours.
her support for unions is not campaign decoration. she has worked industrial and service jobs, participated in labor organizing and repeatedly joined workers on picket lines. WHYY reported that she joined nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, longshore workers at Port Elizabeth and United Airlines flight attendants at Newark Airport.
unlike candidates who describe affordability as a problem of insufficient competition or excessive regulation, Kuniansky identifies the underlying conflict plainly: employers seek lower labor costs while workers need more money, more time and safer conditions. the weakness is that her campaign rarely translates that analysis into draft legislation, estimated costs or a strategy for winning enough votes in Congress. a public-works program sounds fucking amazing. voters still deserve to know its scale, cost, eligibility rules and funding source.
immigration, abortion and civil liberties
Kuniansky supports amnesty for undocumented workers, arguing that immigration status is used to frighten workers, suppress wages and divide the labor movement. she supports abortion and contraception as necessary parts of women’s social and economic equality. she argues that the decision to have a child must remain private rather than controlled by legislatures or courts.
she also emphasizes freedom of speech, assembly and protest, including when defending political opponents from government overreach. the Socialist Workers Party has sometimes defended the constitutional rights of people whose politics it firmly opposes, on the theory that powers used against one movement will eventually be used against workers and unions.
Israel, Gaza and antisemitism
Kuniansky’s position on Israel is likely to surprise readers who assume every socialist organization shares the same analysis. the Socialist Workers Party supports Israel’s continued existence as a refuge for Jewish people, describes the october 7 Hamas attack as a pogrom and argues that defeating Hamas is in the interest of workers. the party rejects the description of Israel as merely a settler-colonial state and treats rising antisemitism as a central threat to the entire working class.
at the same time, Kuniansky opposes Washington’s wars and military intervention across the Middle East. her 2026 campaign distinguishes between Israel’s fight for its continued existence and American military action intended to protect oil, resources and imperial power.
that produces an unusual position: revolutionary socialism, opposition to American imperialism and strong support for Israel defeating Hamas.
i found no AIPAC funding or evidence that AIPAC is supporting her. i also did not find a clear, current answer explaining exactly how she would vote on American weapons packages for Israel. given the contradiction between opposing Washington’s wars and supporting an Israeli military victory, that question needs a direct answer.
climate and capitalism
the Socialist Workers Party argues that corporate profit and government neglect turn storms, floods and industrial accidents into mass-casualty events. that is a useful analysis, particularly when poor residents are left in basement apartments, unsafe workplaces or neighborhoods without reliable infrastructure.
however, Kuniansky’s earlier campaign statement said the deaths and destruction caused by Hurricane Ida were not caused by climate change, placing responsibility instead on capitalism and failed prep.
those are not mutually exclusive causes. private profiteering and government neglect determine who is abandoned, while a warming climate can make the storm itself more destructive. an anti-capitalist analysis that refuses to grapple fully with climate science has left a rather large hole in the roof.
the question: Kuniansky has the most authentically working-class résumé in the race and the least interest in flattering wealthy donors. she also asks voters to embrace revolutionary political change without providing a detailed picture of the government that would follow. is the Socialist Workers Party building a practical road toward worker power, or describing the destination while leaving the map folded in her crunchy lil pocket next to her organic werthers originals?
u.s. house of representatives
you vote only in the congressional district where you live. not sure of your district? check your registration on the nj voter information portal.
district 1
camden, parts of gloucester and burlington counties.
donald norcross, democratic, incumbent
Norcross has represented New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District since 2014. the district includes Camden and parts of Burlington and Gloucester counties.
the pitch: higher wages, stronger unions, domestic manufacturing, affordable healthcare, abortion rights, and federal investment in South Jersey.
the background: Norcross is an electrician, longtime IBEW member, and former president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO. he currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Education and Workforce.
the money: FEC records show that his campaign collected about $1.66 million between january 2025 and june 30, 2026, and entered july with approximately $2.37 million available. PACs and other political committees supplied $791,232, slightly more than 52% of his total contributions. individual donors supplied about $725,335.
the labor record
Norcross is not pretending to be union. he is union, and parts of his record prove it.
he helped lead the Raise the Wage Act, supports the PRO Act to make union organizing easier, introduced legislation preventing companies from deducting union-busting expenses from their taxes, and helped pass a House version of the National Apprenticeship Act. he has also pushed wage protections for federal contractors and workplace-safety legislation for warehouse employees.
then came the 2022 railroad fight hen Norcross voted for the congressional measure that imposed a contract on railroad workers, blocking a national strike even though several unions had rejected the agreement. he also voted for a separate measure granting workers seven paid sick days, but that provision died in the Senate. the contract mandate survived.
so, yes, he voted for sick leave. he also voted to take away the workers’ ability to keep striking for it. for a congressman who built his identity around collective bargaining, that contradiction deserves more than a commemorative hard hat.
the defense-industry connection
Norcross serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the ranking Democrat on a subcommittee overseeing more than $120 billion in military programs. that position gives him influence over weapons procurement, military manufacturing, and the federal contracts supporting South Jersey’s defense industry.
his campaign has accepted money from PACs connected to Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Huntington Ingalls, Honeywell, and Leonardo DRS. current-cycle filings include $5,000 from Lockheed Martin’s PAC, at least $4,000 from Boeing’s PAC, and contributions from General Dynamics.
Norcross argues that defense spending supports union manufacturing jobs, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and facilities such as Lockheed Martin’s operation in Moorestown. that is true. it is also true that the companies benefiting from his committee’s decisions are helping finance his campaign.
tldr: public money goes into military contracts, some of the resulting corporate money returns through PAC contributions, and everyone calls it job creation.
Israel and AIPAC
Norcross has been one of Congress’s reliable votes for continued military assistance to Israel. in april 2024, he voted for a foreign-aid package containing approximately $26.4 billion for Israel, including military assistance and missile-system funding. his own announcement emphasized that the spending would also purchase weapons and components manufactured in South Jersey.
AIPAC Watch’s FEC-based ledger identifies at least $110,881 in direct AIPAC PAC support for Norcross’s campaign. broader Israel-lobby trackers produce higher totals because they include additional pro-Israel PACs and donor networks.
whatever number readers use, the policy is not mysterious. Norcross accepts pro-Israel political money and repeatedly votes to fund the Israeli military. voters can decide whether that represents shared foreign-policy beliefs, donor influence, or an extremely convenient overlap between the two.
the South Jersey connect
Donald Norcross is the brother of George Norcross, the longtime insurance executive and unelected Democratic power broker who spent decades influencing candidates, party organizations, government contracts, and development policy thruout South Jersey.
being someone’s brother is not evidence of wrongdoing. Donald Norcross was not charged in the racketeering case brought against George, Philip Norcross, and several associates. that case was dismissed by a judge, the dismissal was upheld on appeal, and prosecutors ended the case in february 2026.
but Donald’s connection to the machine is more substantial than sharing a last name.
as a state senator, he co-sponsored the law that created New Jersey’s controversial Camden tax-incentive program. ProPublica and WNYC found that nearly two-thirds of approximately $1.6 billion in Camden incentives went to businesses connected to George Norcross, his business partners, political allies, and clients of Philip Norcross.
one beneficiary was Holtec International, which received a $260 million tax break. Donald publicly promoted the company, while Holtec chairman Kris Singh contributed more than $10,000 to his first congressional campaign. George Norcross served on Holtec’s board, Philip helped represent the company, and Donald had helped create the incentive program from which it benefited. ProPublica later reported that Holtec’s promises concerning Camden employment were falling short of the transformation originally advertised.
whilst none of that proves a secret criminal conspiracy. it does show how political power works in South Jersey when legislation, campaign money, family relationships, development deals, and public subsidies all keep meeting at the same table.
what the record adds up to
Norcross has a more substantial labor record than many Democrats who borrow union language every election season. his support for higher wages, apprenticeships, organizing rights, and domestic manufacturing has produced actual legislation.
but he is also a product and protector of the South Jersey political establishment. his campaign depends heavily on PAC money. his Armed Services position overlaps neatly with defense-contractor support. he backs enormous military expenditures while presenting them as local jobs programs. and when railroad workers threatened the economy with their collective power, he voted to end their strike.
the question: when labor, military contractors, party leadership, and the Norcross network want different things, who does Donald Norcross consider the working class?
Damon Galdo, Republican, challenger
Galdo is a construction superintendent, union carpenter, small-business owner, and host of the conservative Jersey Sure podcast. this is his third campaign for the same congressional seat.
the pitch: affordability, border security, public safety, parental rights, free speech, domestic manufacturing, energy production, and an end to establishment politics.
the history: Galdo lost the Republican primary in 2022 with 31% of the vote, then lost a three-way primary in 2024. he became the 2026 nominee without opposition, meaning he has never won a contested election.
the money: FEC records show approximately $11,125 in receipts through june 30, 2026, compared with Donald Norcross’s $1.66 million. Galdo reported about $10,525 from individuals, $500 from a party committee, no corporate or other PAC contributions, and no outside spending on his behalf. he had $5,056 available.
there is no evidence in his current filings that Galdo has taken money from AIPAC or another pro-Israel PAC. that deserves to be stated plainly. so does the other side of the number: this is an unusually small campaign for someone seeking a seat in Congress.
the working-class candidate
Galdo’s background is legitimate. he has worked as a carpenter foreman and construction superintendent, and his campaign supports apprenticeships, vocational education, American manufacturing, and infrastructure built with American labor.
this should give him an opening to discuss wages, workplace safety, union organizing, prevailing-wage laws, healthcare benefits, and the companies misclassifying construction workers as independent contractors you'd think. mostly, he does not.
his platform promises to cut regulations that increase construction and housing costs, but it does not explain which regulations he means. some regulations create pointless delay. others keep workers alive, require accessible buildings, protect drinking water, or prevent developers from building firetraps with nicer countertops. “cut regulations” is not a housing policy until the candidate identifies what gets cut and who becomes less protected.
Galdo also has not published clear positions on the PRO Act, a higher federal minimum wage, paid family leave, the federal contractor wage, or protections against union busting. his biography says union carpenter. his policy page has not yet shown voters what that would mean when a Republican administration or corporate employer attacks a union.
the Trump alignment
Galdo describes himself as an America First candidate and told the New Jersey Globe that he is, “of course,” a supporter of Donald Trump.
his stated agenda includes lower federal spending, stronger border enforcement, tougher criminal laws, expanded fossil-fuel production, “election integrity,” parental control over education, and resistance to federal regulation.:"
the unresolved question is what he would do when Trump’s policies collide with the working families Galdo says he represents. tariffs can protect some domestic industries, but they can also raise the cost of lumber, steel, machinery, appliances, and construction materials. cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, housing assistance, education, or infrastructure would land directly on families and workers in his district.
Galdo criticizes federal spending in broad terms but has not published a detailed list of programs he would reduce, how much money the cuts would save, or what those reductions would mean for South Jersey. until he does, “cut wasteful spending” remains Washington’s oldest magic trick. everyone promises it, nobody points to the rabbit.
immigration and fentanyl
Galdo wants continued border enforcement, an end to “sanctuary-style loopholes,” and stricter limits on unauthorized immigration. his 2024 platform went further, supporting the termination of DACA, restoration of the Remain in Mexico policy, a ban on sanctuary policies, and renewed construction of the border wall.
his 2026 campaign connects unauthorized immigration directly to fentanyl deaths in South Jersey. the fentanyl crisis is real. the description of how the drug enters the country is incomplete.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that more than 90% of interdicted fentanyl is stopped at official ports of entry, commonly hidden in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens. border inspection matters, but treating asylum seekers and undocumented families as the principal fentanyl-smuggling operation is politically useful and factually sloppy.
a serious overdose policy would also address treatment, housing, mental healthcare, pharmaceutical practices, harm reduction, recovery services, and the domestic distribution networks moving drugs once they are here. Galdo’s current plan is much heavier on the border than on any of those things.
energy and the environment
Galdo supports offshore drilling, fracking, coal mining, nuclear research, and fewer restrictions on domestic energy production. his earlier campaign blamed Biden for destroying American “energy independence.”
the numbers complicate that story. according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, American crude-oil production broke the previous U.S. and global record in 2023. production then reached new records in 2024 and 2025. the United States has also remained a net total-energy exporter since 2019.
voters can support more drilling if they want. they should not be told that domestic energy production vanished when it was breaking records.
Galdo’s platform also leaves major local questions unanswered. he has not provided a detailed climate-resilience plan for flooding, extreme heat, stormwater, rising insurance costs, or the environmental burden already carried by communities around Camden’s industrial sites.
schools, transgender youth, and free speech
Galdo’s current campaign uses the gentler phrase “parents’ rights.” his archived 2024 platform was considerably more specific.
it called for banning certain classroom materials, punishing educators accused of “indoctrination,” prohibiting puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery for people under 18, and having government officially classify being transgender as a mental illness.
that is not a minor curriculum disagreement. it would place federal politicians inside medical decisions involving young people, parents, and doctors while instructing the government to define an entire group of citizens as mentally ill.
his free-speech platform has its own contradiction. Galdo opposes social-media companies moderating political content and previously proposed repealing Section 230. at the same time, he supports government restrictions on what educators, schools, libraries, doctors, and families may say or provide.
apparently free speech is sacred right up until the speaker is a teacher.
healthcare, abortion, and foreign policy
Galdo lists “affordable healthcare” as a priority, but his campaign has not published a substantive healthcare plan explaining how he would reduce premiums, control hospital prices, protect people with preexisting conditions, or handle Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.
he has also not clearly stated his 2026 position on abortion rights, contraception, federal abortion restrictions, military assistance to Israel, Gaza, or continued aid to Ukraine.
those are not decorative questions. a member of Congress votes on all of them. candidates do not get to campaign on transparency while leaving some of the largest federal policy decisions inside a locked drawer.
what the record adds up to
Galdo’s campaign is genuinely free of the corporate PAC machinery surrounding Norcross, and his construction background gives him a credible understanding of physical work that most members of Congress could not locate with GPS.
but a working-class biography is not automatically a working-class program.
his platform is specific when identifying immigrants, transgender youth, teachers, and federal regulators as the problem. it becomes noticeably blurrier when the subject is wages, healthcare, union power, housing supply, corporate pricing, or which public programs he would cut.
the question: is Damon Galdo offering South Jersey workers economic power, or simply giving them a longer list of people to blame?
U.S. House, District 2
Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem counties, plus parts of Gloucester and Ocean counties.
Jeff Van Drew, Republican, incumbent
for the record it is mad hard for me to be bipartisan here. i fucking hate this loser so much.
the pitch: lower taxes, border enforcement, domestic energy, opposition to offshore wind, support for veterans, and protection of Social Security and Medicare.
the background: Van Drew is a retired dentist who spent nearly two decades in the New Jersey Legislature as a Democrat. he entered Congress as a Democrat in 2019, opposed Donald Trump’s first impeachment, switched parties, and promised Trump his “undying support”.
the money: FEC records show approximately $1.93 million raised thru june 30, 2026, including $1.56 million from individuals and $327,471 from PACs and other committees. he had about $1.54 million available. Track AIPAC identifies $87,921 in career support from AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups.
the record
Van Drew’s political survival skills are Olympic. after switching parties, he went from opposing Trump’s impeachment to supporting efforts to keep Trump in office after the 2020 election. even after the Capitol attack, Van Drew objected to certifying electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
he has since become a dependable Trump ally, but not a perfectly obedient one. he has sometimes pressured Republican leaders over Medicaid, disaster funding, and programs important to his older and lower-income district.
the problem comes when the final vote arrives.
in 2025, Van Drew voted for the Republican budget law while insisting it contained “no cuts” to Medicaid for eligible recipients. the legislation reduced future federal Medicaid and healthcare spending through work requirements, more frequent eligibility checks, and other restrictions. the Congressional Budget Office projected that millions of people would lose coverage.
offshore wind
Van Drew has made opposition to offshore wind his signature local issue. he argues that industrial projects could damage tourism, commercial fishing, marine life, military radar, and the character of the Jersey Shore. some of those concerns, particularly construction effects, financing, fisheries, and corporate transparency, deserve serious review.
he has also repeatedly used whale deaths to justify stopping projects. NOAA Fisheries says there are no known links between offshore-wind activity and large-whale deaths. examined deaths have more commonly shown evidence of ship strikes or fishing-gear entanglement.
Van Drew helped build the political case Trump later used to pause offshore-wind construction. whether voters view that as coastal protection or fossil-fuel politics depends partly on what replaces the lost power. Van Drew strongly supports expanded oil, gas, and nuclear production, but has not produced a comparably detailed plan for lowering South Jersey’s electric bills.
Israel and military aid
Van Drew has voted for billions in military assistance to Israel, including the 2024 package providing roughly $17 billion for weapons and military support alongside humanitarian funding. in july 2026, he also voted against an amendment that would have removed $3.3 billion in annual military assistance to Israel.
his position is consistent with the pro-Israel PAC money supporting him. it is also consistent with his broader foreign-policy record, which favors Israel while becoming more skeptical of aid to Ukraine. in 2024, he voted for the Israel package and against the separate Ukraine package.
what the record adds up to
Van Drew is not simply a Trump puppet. he is something more durable and possibly more dangerous to anyone trying to predict him: an expert reader of his district.
he brings home federal funding, maintains strong constituent services, and understands that South Jersey voters may be culturally conservative while still depending on Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, veterans’ care, beach protection, and government-funded infrastructure.
his great talent is presenting himself as the man protecting those programs while voting with the party trying to shrink them, or uhh, lying, i guess?
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the question: is Jeff Van Drew protecting South Jersey from Washington, or protecting his seat by telling South Jersey whatever Washington’s latest vote requires?
Zack Mullock, Democratic
the pitch: the Cape May mayor is running on affordability, housing, healthcare, clean energy, reproductive rights, and limiting corporate power. he supports restricting private-equity firms from buying large numbers of homes, tying wages to inflation, helping first-time homebuyers, and overturning Citizens United.
the money: Mullock reported approximately $462,863 in receipts through june 30, 2026. that includes about $346,863 from individuals, $6,000 from political committees, and $110,000 in loans from Mullock himself. nearly one-quarter of the money entering the campaign came from the candidate. FEC filing
the Israel question: Mullock has called Israel an important ally while also saying Palestinians are suffering a profound injustice and that Israel is not beyond scrutiny. i found no reported AIPAC contribution in the filings reviewed. that should be checked again when the next campaign-finance report arrives.
the data-center question: Mullock supports pausing new AI data centers until their effects on water, electricity, utility bills, and surrounding communities are understood.
the scrutiny: Mullock has municipal experience but no federal voting record. his platform is more specific than the standard Democratic affordability speech, but voters should still ask how far he would go when those promises collide with party leadership, developers, insurers, and large donors.
the question: is Mullock prepared to confront the industries driving housing, healthcare, and energy costs, or will “responsible development” become another phrase that means development first and responsibility later?
Ramon Mora Jr., independent
the pitch: Mora is a Vineland nurse who has spoken publicly about surviving homelessness, a serious workplace injury, and financial instability. he is running on affordable housing and healthcare, public transportation, trade education, utility reform, a congressional stock-trading ban, and a moratorium on new AI data centers. campaign platform
the money: Mora says he will reject corporate and foreign-interest money. his federal committee is registered, but the FEC had not yet processed enough financial information to provide a meaningful campaign summary when this guide was researched. FEC committee record
the Israel question: i found no verified AIPAC support for Mora. he has criticized the influence of AIPAC and corporate money inside the Democratic Party.
the scrutiny: Mora brings direct experience with the conditions politicians usually describe from a podium. his weakness is structural: an independent candidate has no major-party organization, limited fundraising infrastructure, and little institutional leverage. several of his proposals also need more detail about cost, enforcement, and how he would assemble enough congressional votes to enact them. candidate interview
the question: does independence create genuine leverage, or leave a serious working-class platform without the machinery required to enact it?
U.S. House of Representatives: District 3
District 3 includes parts of Burlington, Mercer, and Monmouth counties.
Herb Conaway, Democratic, incumbent
the pitch: Conaway is a physician, attorney, veteran, former New Jersey assemblyman, and first-term member of Congress. healthcare is the center of his political identity. he has worked on protecting patients from insurance denials involving automated and AI-assisted decision-making.
the money: Conaway reported approximately $934,660 in receipts through june 30, 2026. political committees contributed about $500,875, more than half of all contributions, while individuals contributed about $430,919. he had approximately $439,329 in cash remaining. FEC filing
the Israel money: Track AIPAC has reported $26,075 in support connected to AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel. Conaway also joined a 2025 trip to Israel sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, an AIPAC-affiliated organization. CAIR-NJ report
the scrutiny: Conaway brings real medical expertise to a Congress overflowing with lawyers and career operatives. that expertise matters. so does the fact that more than half of his reported contributions came from PACs and other political committees. voters should watch his decisions when patients, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, hospital systems, and campaign contributors want different things.
the question: when corporate healthcare interests and patients receive competing prescriptions, which one will Dr. Conaway fill?
Michael McGuire, Republican
the pitch: McGuire is a Marine veteran, retired NYPD officer, and family-law attorney. he supports congressional term limits, banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, cutting federal spending, lowering taxes, strengthening national defense, and improving veterans’ services. campaign issues
the money: McGuire reported approximately $79,190 in receipts, including $58,190 from individuals and $21,000 in candidate loans. his filing showed no PAC contributions through june 30. FEC filing
the Israel money: i found no reported AIPAC or other PAC contributions in the filing reviewed.
the scrutiny: McGuire’s platform uses “affordability” and “wasteful spending” frequently without identifying precisely what he would cut. that distinction matters. Medicaid, SNAP, housing assistance, education, environmental enforcement, and corporate subsidies all appear somewhere in the federal budget, but cutting them produces radically different consequences. his public platform also needs clearer positions on abortion, climate policy, immigration enforcement, healthcare coverage, and Gaza.
the question: what exactly gets cut, and who is expected to absorb the pain?
the additional District 3 candidates
Ryan Michael Kelly, Affordability, Accountability, People: Kelly is running as an independent on universal healthcare, workers’ rights, affordable housing and education, civil rights, due process, government accountability, and an end to “endless war.” his FEC committee is registered, but no meaningful processed financial summary was available when this guide was researched. i found no verified AIPAC support. the platform is ambitious, but voters need more detail about financing and legislative strategy. campaign website
Steven Welzer, Green Party: Welzer is a longtime Green Party organizer whose politics center on ecology, peace, social justice, economic democracy, and ranked-choice voting. i found no verified AIPAC support. his philosophy is clear, but detailed 2026 positions, financial filings, and implementation plans were limited when this guide was researched. Green Party of New Jersey
Atlantic County races
county government controls a substantial budget, public services, infrastructure, appointments, elections, law enforcement, and regional planning. these offices receive less attention than Congress while often affecting daily life more directly.
Atlantic County commissioner, at-large
every Atlantic County voter may vote in this race. two seats are available.
John W. Risley Jr., Republican, incumbent: Risley has served on the board since 2012 and currently chairs it. he is running on experience, fiscal management, and continuity. after more than a decade in office, voters should evaluate his votes, budgets, appointments, contracts, and meeting record rather than relying only on a new campaign platform. reelection coverage
June Byrnes, Republican, incumbent: Byrnes is also seeking another term. her campaign emphasizes established county administration and economic development. public information about a distinct 2026 platform is limited, making her governing record the more useful measure.
Jonathan Marcellus, Democratic: Marcellus is a Haitian immigrant who began working in Atlantic City washing dishes and providing casino security before earning a doctorate and creating a tax, accounting, and business-consulting firm. he is campaigning on small-business support, workforce development, retaining young residents, and addressing housing, grocery, and utility costs. candidate profile
Kyle Gornick, Democratic: Gornick works in public policy for the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development and serves on the Atlantic City Planning Board. his platform focuses on job pipelines, workforce training, regional investment, and expanding economic opportunity. candidate information
the question: will these candidates require enforceable public benefits from developers and data-center operators, or approve tax incentives and PILOT agreements while residents inherit the infrastructure costs?
Atlantic County commissioner, District 3
only District 3 residents vote in this race.
Andrew Parker III, Republican, incumbent: Parker is seeking reelection and currently serves as board vice-chair. his case is based largely on experience and continuity.
Richard Healey, Democratic: Healey is a human-resources professional challenging Parker. detailed policy material remained limited when this guide was researched.
for both candidates, voters deserve specific answers about county spending, property-tax pressure, development incentives, utility infrastructure, homelessness, public transportation, and whether commissioner meetings are genuinely accessible to the public.
Atlantic County clerk
the clerk helps administer elections, preserves public records, processes documents, and handles services that must function accurately regardless of party.
Joseph Giralo, Republican, incumbent: Giralo was elected in 2021 and is running on his record administering the office.
Lisa Bender, Democratic: Bender is campaigning on voting access, transparency, mail-ballot processing, provisional ballots, and election administration. some of her campaign’s criticisms of the current office are allegations that readers should compare against official records and state election reports. candidate information
the question: which candidate has the clearest, verifiable plan to make voting accurate, accessible, transparent, and boring in the best possible way?
Atlantic County sheriff
Joe “Tokyo” O’Donoghue, Republican, incumbent: O’Donoghue was elected sheriff in 2023. his public identity is built around conventional law-and-order politics and support for aggressive enforcement. he is OLD.
Sean Riggin, Democratic: Riggin is Atlantic City’s public-safety director, a former Pleasantville police chief, a 25-year law-enforcement veteran, and an Army veteran. he emphasizes professional management, community relationships, and coordination among public-safety agencies. candidate profile
the question: will the sheriff’s office measure success by arrests and political theater, or by safety, accountability, civil rights, and public trust?
before you vote
municipal races, school-board candidates, and public questions vary by town. do not assume a social-media graphic contains your complete ballot.
use the New Jersey Voter Information Portal to verify your registration, polling location, early-voting options, and vote-by-mail information. Atlantic County voters should also review the official sample ballot issued for their municipality.
campaign-finance numbers in this guide reflect the latest reports available when it was researched. those numbers will change. donor claims, candidate statements, and outside spending should be checked again before election day.
remember: a ballot is not a valentine. you are not picking a best friend, a savior, or some freak whose name you want embroidered on a hat. you are hiring a public employee and handing them an obscene amount of power over our money, schools, hospitals, housing, utilities, borders, wars, and whether somebody gets to keep their health insurance. read the promises, follow the money, check the record. pay attention to what they answer and what gets buried beneath flags, diner photos, tough-guy commercials, and the word “affordability” repeated until it has lost all earthly meaning.
and if they win, do not disappear until the next election. call them, email them, go to the meetings, ask the rude question, then ask it again when they answer some completely different question. these people depend on us being tired, distracted, broke, and unable to remember what they promised six months ago. vote, obviously. then continue being a pain in their ass. they work for us.
remember:
last researched and updated: august 28, 2026
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