is about an hour and half.

rider university. the debate prior to air time, it is also establishing the questions and responses that alternate between two candidates. a coin toss was conducted earlier and that was won by andy kim. he opted for the first opening statement and the first closing statement great welcome, the floor is yours. >> thank you everyone for joining. as i'm talking to you right now i can hear my two little boys getting ready for bed.

it reminds me that they are the reason i do all of this. all of the work that i do. 50 years ago, my parents emigrated and they came here because america meant something to them. it was about opportunity and security, that is all i want from my kids too. that vision of america is under attack right now by donald trump and the maga republicans i have been fighting for the last five years. we have to stop them. i know how to beat donald trump, it is about restoring integrity. it is about trust. it is about public service. that has risk when we have a senator -- that is at risk when we have a senator that is indicted on corruption and we are seeing the politics that protected the senator for so many years trying to put its thumb on the scale of our elections including on the senate race. we are better than that.

i was with president biden when he gave his january 6th speech and a line he said stuck out to me when he said we know who donald trump's but who are we? i believe the democratic party is a party of protecting democracy, restoring integrity. getting true meaning -- given to many to a public service is and that is what i'm trying to do right now as i am running for the united states senate. thank you. >> thank you. your opening statement? >> good evening, i am tammy murphy and i am running for the senate because i am concerned about the world we are handing off to the next generation. as a mother of four i see the world through their eyes and our children are losing faith in us rightfully so. little girls are growing up with less rights than i had, fire drills replaced by active shooter drills, if we do not do something right now about climate change, parts of new

jersey will be greatly underwater in 20 years. i will not stand by watching as the world gets worse. i spent the last seven years traveling our state listening to families in all 21 counties. we need a senator who recognizes the heavy burden on middle-class families and will fight for taxpayers. we need a senator who is a champion for women and girls and we will stop the extreme right wing banning of abortion it all 50 states. we need a senator to stand up to the gun lobby and care more about our children dying every day than winning the reelection. from climate change to defending our democracy, the list of threats goes on. it comes down to this, we need more mad moms to get things done. new jersey's infant and mother maternity rate, often i

am the only woman in the room. i am running for the senate not to advance my career, but because we urgently need a new voice, vision, and leadership in washington. thank you. >> we now onto our panel and our first question which comes from david, do you have a question? >> why shouldn't andy kim be a senator? what action or position has he taken that you disagree with him on? >> thank you so much, thank you to everybody for having me here this evening. i would tell you why i think i should be running for the united states senate. i have, i have spent a portion of my life working in wall street, i worked internationally in finance. i have lived overseas for 15 years of my life seeing our country through a foreign lens and i have helped to represent

our country at the highest levels. i would tell you that in new jersey for the past six plus years i have seen the dreams and concerns people in new jersey have had and the big challenges like infant and maternal health and i would tell you that over the course of that i have worked with advocates and legislators and i have helped pass over 60 pieces of legislation at this point in time. what we need, we need a mother to fight for our state in washington dc and we need to make sure that we are setting the table and showing future generations what they should aspire to. thank you. >> you have one minute for your response. >> thank you, look, what i will say is that i am running for the united states senate because i have been a public servant my entire career. i have served this nation every minute of my career and i hope to serve this nation with honor and integrity for every minute of the rest of my career.

i have served as a diplomat in national security and i have served the country in war zones and i served as a three-term member of congress. i can guarantee a win this november and someone who has won a district 12, between the two of us, and the only person here that has run and won an election and i think that is important. right now, the majority is interesting, we cannot let this become vulnerable or allowed the republicans to have any chance of passing a national abortion ban and any challenge of that nature and right now the world is on fire, there is so much conflict and crisis. i will be ready day one for being able to step up and be able to tackle these issues and give new jersey a voice. >> thank you, michael, you have a question for andy kim? >> the biggest flashpoint in the race so far has been county

organization lines. there has been talk about a potential for sharing some of them. of course, either one of you would gain by sharing the lines you are expected to win but you could gain in counties where you are not. is this something you would do on your own? or would it require a global agreement by both of you? >> thank you for this. i believe in a democracy about fairness, about making sure that every citizen has the right to participate and if they choose to run for office, that is something that they can take on and it is not just for the well-off or the well-connected to be able to do that. right now we do not see a fair process when it comes to this senate race and that is something that i see a lot of people across new jersey seeing and that is a problem. i think that new jersey should move in the direction of every other state in america which is the office block ballot. all 49 other states to do this and the we can be fair and we can make sure that people's

merits and experiences and what people are doing in terms of thinking about who to vote for. when you talk about your proposal of sharing, if we can come to an agreement and i asked tammy if we could have an agreement and sharing a county line, we can make that agreement right now. and be able to talk about how we can have greater fairness and i will keep fighting for the office ballot because that is right. >> over to you. >> thank you, i would just say to you that we are all running in the same system right now. i see my opponents in mercer county, we all are going to continue working within the system that we have. for me, this is one piece of the puzzle. the fact of the matter is that i am going to earn every single vote that i get by working hard every single day and by visiting and listening to people on the ground. i have been endorsed by over 100

elected representatives and i have been endorsed by six of nine members of the new jersey democratic congressional delegation, i have received endorsements from our brothers and sisters in labor and from the state community. most importantly i am on the ground and i am really looking forward to understanding what i can do to help the citizens i have met and i will reach out to everyone, i will reach out to veterans and seniors and young families and everyone. i look forward to it. >> we go to joey fox, do you have a follow-up? >> a quick follow-up for miss murphy. you set up the system that we had, would you rather the system be different if you had control over that? >> hello, i would say to you that we are all working within the same system and if there are movements to be made, let us

focus on improvements but right now we are in the middle of a campaign and let us move forward with the boundaries as we know them. >> ok, onto the next question which is to tammy murphy. >> yes, again, there is a lot a very complex medical systems within new jersey and there are complex political systems within the senate. like the filibuster, heavy focus on seniority, when it comes to committee assignments and power. what reforms, if any of your elected would you hope to enact in this august body? >> first of all, with respect to the filibuster, the filibuster has been completely abused by the republicans. at this point in time we are basically dysfunctional. i know that when the filibuster came into effect in 1917, we went along for a good while and we did not have any filibusters, but we have had over 2000

filibusters and of that more than half in the last 12 years alone. i would absolutely support removing the filibuster. obviously would support their other things on my platform that i support, we have to be careful and i want to make sure that if we cannot absolutely remove the filibuster we must make sure that we are adding more exceptions like gun safety and for abortions by way of example. >> over to you for your response. >> thank you, look, i think this is one of the biggest areas of disagreement that we have. i listened to the first lady talk about this, this is good she has talked about it in previous times. in an interview in december she said she was not sure what she was going to do about filibuster. she had not thought about it very much. i'll be honest someone who has been stepping up for the united states senate, that is

perplexing to me that someone is stepping up and have not thought about the filibuster. it is holding up so much progress. i have worked on the path of women's health protection and we passed it, it was down in the senate. we have fought to be able to take bold action on climate change and that was down delivering in the senate because of the filibuster. over and over again it is a major obstacle. another interview that she did a few weeks ago, she said the filibuster is a useful tool. a useful tool. i not sure what to believe but it is something that is very concerning to me because i believe this is a fundamental part of being a democratic senator, you get the majority that you need to pass legislation that you need. >> we will give you time to follow up on that. >> there has been no doubt, i agree that we should remove the filibuster and let me be

specific, if we cannot remove the filibuster we must make sure we are adding exceptions as has already been done. my two exceptions i would point to our we need abortion to be codified at the federal level and weight need to ensure that we spent in safety measures. -- expand our gun safety measures. >> your question goes to andy kim. >> health care is a human right. you have not sponsored the medicare for all act in the house. what has stopped you from supporting a single-payer national health insurance plan? >> thank you, i agree we need to have universal health care and i think there are many different ways we can get there, a lot of different countries that are out there that have gotten in that direction, over to single-payer, and focusing on multi-payer it is important that we do not

close the door on those different options. that is why i have been trying to do a methodical approach. let us see what it is that we actually want. we want to make sure that we have -- we get rid of the for-profit system. this is something we should not have businesses making billions of dollars off of the health and challenges people are facing and that is something that we see a deep injustice in right now. we want to make sure we have a way to negotiate drug prices and drug costs and that is something we are working on. i have seen continued challenges in medicare and the v.a. and other programs which is why i think we should be looking at different options to get universal care. if you do single-payer and multi-payer, those are the ones i want to make sure we push forward on. >> now to your response, you have one minute. >> this is a complete moral failure, the status quo is not working.

health care is absolutely a right and not a privilege. by not supporting medicare for all or a public option of some sort, what we are doing is we are furthering the inequities that exist in our society. it is really pretty much black-and-white for me and i would further say to you that we in the united states, when i say this is not working only do we have people who are using our emergency rooms for primary care physicians and it is clogging up our system for those who need it. on top of that, we are -- our life expectancy is declining in the united states. this is an urgent level, we cannot sit back and wait and see what else will happen, we need to jump in right now and i have seen this firsthand through all of the work i have been doing an infant and maternal health, thank you, we must pass medicare

for all. >> we go to you and your question goes to tammy murphy next. >> as a senator, what would you say to constituents if they ask you to oppose the murphy administration's plan to raise new jersey thoroughfares are wide and the turnpike? -- or widen the turnpike? >> i will be supporting our transit system. we need transport, millions of people every single day, all across new jersey, we have to make sure that our mass transit is as strong as it can be. we must to that we are finishing gateways and making our state as accessible and user-friendly as possible. i am really proud i have to say that i actually have been endorsed by the heu and i have

met with them and i understand with them and i understand what their issues are at the federal level and i look forward to representing them and working for all of the people in new jersey from the position in washington dc. >> you have one minute for your response. >> let me get to the heart of the problem, it was not addressed by my opponent's comments. this is a wrong move to make for new jersey, i know so many families who take the new jersey trains to get to work and see each other, i think new jersey transit, -- i take new jersey transit, so does my wife, this is the lifeblood of our state. that fair increase will hurt the most vulnerable new jerseyans, the people who are already struggling and they feel like they are getting squeezed and a death from 1000 cuts. this is the wrong move to make and we have put a lot of federal dollars back into new jersey, in

the american rescue plan and the infrastructure laws and the inflation reduction act and other things like that to avoid something like this. i am glad my senator talked about the gateway shut off, i want to see federal dollars to push forward on that but we need to be investing more in terms of public transit and encouraging ridership at a time when that is so critical to the future of new jersey. that is something i want to keep moving on. >> joey we go to you and your question next is for andy kim. >> you identified as pro-choice and i think there is an issue that there is not a ton of daylight between the two candidates here. i'm curious given the reality of the system that we live in and the congress we have and the supreme court that we have, what would you do in the senate to protect the right to abortion? to protect reproductive health access? >> i believe that this issue about women's reproductive rights is one of the defining

challenges of our time. it is something that we have to deal with and focus on and i'm hearing from every voter i'm talking to. i am proud i was able to help pass the women's health protection act, but it died on delivery in the senate. when you see the necessity to have strong leadership, ready to go day one, to pass the filibuster and changes you need to get this past. to do that, not just that, it is about the work i have done and being able to vote on ensuring that when women are able to transit to other states to get abortions. you have access to abortions, make sure that they have the ability to get there safely. the work i have been doing over the past year and i have been the ranking member on military personnel groups, fighting against what he is trying to do and take away reproductive rights for women who are defending our nation. those are the things i will be working on ready they want in

the senate. -- ready they one in the senate. >> listen codifying abortion is important. i would say to you that i have had the ability for the past 6.5 years to be on the ground. working in the space, infant and maternal health. i am proud by codifying roe in new jersey. the problem is our elected leaders and it should someone come into office who would like to do that, they could do that. we need to ensure that our women and children are predicted and we are not waiting for the next shoe to drop. we have to codify this. i would say to you that again, this is a fundamental right and

it should be treated as such and the fact that i had this right growing up and now children are having less rights than i did is unacceptable. >> we have guests' questions and our first one is coming from the executive director of the aclu of new jersey. once this is finished, you will be able to respond first. once we have watched anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy by democratic and republican politicians. some proposals would limit the right to silence seek and to seek deportations without due process, if you are elected, what would you do to protect immigrant families and would you be willing to push back on members of your own party including president biden if they supported anti-immigrant measures? >> i heard nothing. we could not hear anything. >> all right. >> we can do is just go ahead

and go on to our next round of questions and if neither of you are able to hear it, we will go on next to andy kim. do you have a question for andy kim? >> bob menendez is not here tonight, you have said this race is about taking on corruption. i should point out that two of the four men who helped facilitate have been -- for the seat you have been accepting is accepting bribes, what assurances do you make to new jersey that we do not need to worry about it? will you trade in the individual stocks? will you create a qualified blind trust in the united states? >> thank you, but i will say is that if elected and representatives stayed in the senate i can guarantee you and the people of new jersey you will never have questions why i

served this country, why i do what i do. i served this country every minute of my career as i said earlier and i tried to do that with a sense of integrity that i try to bring about, i have been fighting unjust corruption, my very first day in congress, working on for the people act, one of the most populist pieces of legislation i introduced in congress, legislation that would ban members of congress from owning and trading individual stocks, i do not own any individual stocks, that is something i do not take back your money, these are the ways in which i tried to live and walk the walk in that way and again, that is something that is different from my competitors here who have a blind trust operated by her brother. i do not think that passes the smell test for a lot of people. someone who can show integrity for the work that i do. >> we go to you for your response. >> yes, what i would say to you

is we will -- i will be absolutely above reproach. when my husband was elected, we voluntarily put my brother in charge of a blind trust that there is no question for the people of new jersey that he was focused on just the people of new jersey and not his own self advancement. i think that the stock trade ban is common sense. it makes exactly no sense to have someone go into one room and buy a stock and go into another room and decide how that industry and how that stock might be impacted. there is no question on that front. i would also say that i clearly will be well within the law if not beyond reproach and i will make sure that i am showing the

people of new jersey that i am totally focused only on the people of new jersey and not myself. >> will continue to work on the audio issue forecast question. it will continue on with our panel. her question will go to tammy murphy -- our next question goes to tammy murphy. >> whether democratic candidate supported the republican campaigns or was a registered republican 10 years ago? >> that is for me? i would say it is relevant. i would tell you for me, i grew up in a small business household , my parents and family were moderate conservatives. i grew up in an apolitical household but i was always focused on gun safety and reproductive freedoms, education , and the environment and nothing has changed. i continue to try and find

people i can support you actually prioritize those topics as well and with respect to the republican party, the republican party left me, there was no road left. i would tell you that i will stand strongly for all of these issues. my opponent did actually work for a very antichoice republican senator when he was running initially and i think it is an interesting space. >> we now go to mr. kim for your response. >> it is so important for voters to know that they can trust their candidates and they are in the senate to take the right vote. i represented donald trump twice and i voted to impeach him twice. people can tell i was putting what is best for the country ahead of what is best for my career and i am worried about

the record of the first eight. lady. she was a registered voter of the obama administration and she donated six figures worth of donations to republican candidates and institutions over time. i do not feel confident in terms of what her positions are and i feel that is concerning when we see that she donated thousands of dollars to george w. bush who then appointed justice alito. george w. bush who voted and appointed clarence thomas, these are major concerns for democratic voters and the first lady needs to answer for them. >> will give tammy murphy: the first person i ever gave political contribution to was bill bradley. if you look at any donations i have made i have given significantly more to democrats over time than others.

i have spent the last 10 years helping build up the democratic party and i have done it in new jersey serially. i've gone to every county, i have acted as a surrogate and knocked on doors and gotten out the vote and done canvas lunches. i have helped build up the party and i will continue to be there going forward. >> my last question is about abortion and what you might accomplish in the senate on that. basically the same question on the issue of gun control, both of you would like to see better safety legislation. what will you concretely do to accomplish that? andy kim: i will continue to do what i've done in the house of representatives, which is take on the issue full force. i with -- i was proud to vote

for universal background checks for gun safety and voted on the assault weapons ban and helped vos on it passing through law the act in the aftermath of the massacre in uvalde. this is a horrific problem we face as a country and i say that as someone who is a father of two who come home and talk about the gun drills they have to deal with in all these other things. this is a unique problem to the united states on one we do not have solved. we know the steps to close the loopholes and get the guns off the street to have saved her communities. i will champion that -- safer communicate he's. i will champion that legislation. to be able to pass it into law and deliver for all our families. moderator: tammy murphy, your

response. tammy murphy: thank you. guns are the leading cause of death for children in the united states. there is an urgent need to do something. new jersey is in a great place. we have very commonsense gun safety measures on the books which is fantastic. the problem is if anyone should choose to fill a truck with weapons and drive into our community we would be defenseless so in order for us to feel like we are safe in our communities, it has to be taken to the federal level. i agree, stronger background checks, do not allow guns to those who have been convicted of domestic violence and assault weapons ban, of course. i would further say the whole conversation needs to shift. in the united states right now we are not going to be able to take someone's gun away and have them except that. it is a health epidemic and has

to be treated as such and that is the way i would tackle it. moderator: now david with a question for timmy murphy. >> the israel-hamas war in gaza is now in the fifth month. who do you believe is responsible for starting the conflict, and what conditions, if any, should be made in exchange for a cease-fire? tammy murphy: i am the proud daughter of a jewish father. i have been to israel nine times. i have been to the area that was overtaken october 7. what has happened october 7 in the aftermath is an atrocity. the humanitarian situation on the ground is beyond horrific and we all see it unfold on a daily basis. in my opinion, the political

diplomacy being pursued now by bill burns and jake sullivan is absolutely the best path forward to getting us on the other side of the challenge. the fastest way to find a solution would be to release the hostages but we ultimately have to get to a two state solution. at the end of the day we have to think about new jersey and i go back every time to think about alexander's and their sons who are a hostage right now. we have to stand up for their sons. andy kim: as someone who has worked in national security, this is just about the most difficult situation i have ever seen. i have worked in combat zones and seen a lot of challenges in war zones but this is really horrific. what we saw october 7 was beyond

anything i had imagined would occur and the families of the hostages i have met, i promised them we would do everything we could to get their loved ones home. if we are trying to figure out how to close the violence, we have to have the hostages released and have that humanitarian assistance needed. that kind of agreement is something we need to push on harder. i sat down with tony blinken two weeks ago to talk this through and there is effort underway to do this. i spoke with a number of leaders and officials in israel and other countries, talking about this moment. i think there was a chance for us to find the bilateral cease-fire to get the violence to a close and get the hostages out. moderator: mike, you are up in your question goes to andy kim. >> with the shocking murder of

navalny last week, what are the prospects for timely congressional authorization for aid to ukraine in the stand against russia and what is at stake and being able to compromise on elements of the agreement that both you and mrs. murphy have expressed concern about? andy kim: right now it is absolutely urgent to deal with aid for ukraine. this is about standing up against a brutal dictator who is a u.s. adversary and being able to deal with putin and deal a blow to his military without risking our troops is in our national interest. it is -- it has been so frustrating to work alongside republicans in congress who are

jeopardizing our national security just to play politics and be sympathizers to trump and putin. absolutely we need to get the legislation passed to get the support out there to make sure we are living up to our responsibility as a global leader. it's about protecting democracy and people and it is something we need to do and i hope to be able to pass it in the house as sue nesbitt can. -- as soon as we can. tammy murphy: new jersey has one of the largest ukrainian populations in the country. i was in ukraine about one year ago and had the opportunity to meet not just with students and military leaders, but with refugees and government members and advocates.

these are good people and they have been invaded. this is a war and it is really incumbent upon us to stand up for our allies and make sure we are doing the right thing. and by the way, for anyone who thinks otherwise, it is not that we are just nice, just doing this because we are good people. we are doing this because it it -- because it is in our self interest to do so. ukraine is a democracy that has been overrun and we have to do everything we can to stand up to putin because he is a thug. moderator: joey, a question for tammy murphy. >> continuing on the threat of foreign policy issues, you are both seeking terms as a senator who has been one of the most absent critical voices of the current regime in cuba. i am curious whether you think senator menendez is stance on

the island is correct or if you would rather see the u.s. start to develop friendlier relations towards cuba and loosen sanctions? tammy murphy: we absolutely have to support that keeping people. they are fighting daily for democracy against a dictatorship and there is no question we have to sadly maintain sanctions to put pressure on and encourage democracy to stand up and support these people. but i would say to you that my opponent has been a little soft on sanctions and was allowing agriculture sales and in that space we have to be very careful because we are playing with lives and they are depending on us to be there for them and america must be there. moderator: andy kim, your

response? andy kim: i remember when i first heard about the oppression that happened over protests on july 11, 2021 in cuba and just a reminder of the challenges we face against a regime in charge there. but we have to be very mindful about human rights and the political prisoners that remain and be careful about how to approach this going forward. we have taken some steps that i think are necessary for us to be able to think through a comprehensive approach on how to deal with this. i think when it -- i think some of the steps that biden administration has taken one of allows for family reunification and private sector engagement are steps that will benefit our strategy going forward and to make sure we understand how best to engage in a country that is

right at our doorstep and one we have struggled for decades to try to get a handle on. we have to stand up for human rights but we can have some level of engagement to build on. moderator: time for candidates to ask one another questions. you each have 30 seconds to ask your question and then one minute to answer with a 32nd response. tammy murphy, you are asking the first question. tammy murphy: thank you. having traveled around the state, affordability is a real challenge and there is no question that everyone is looking for ways that they might be able to live their version of the american dream. can you explain to me, because i do not understand why you would not support medicare for all, and second, can you explain why you did not support president biden's plan to alleviate the student debt?

andy kim: happy to talk about that because i want to make sure i clarify this because as i said in my previous response, i do support universal health care. whether single-payer or multiplayer, i am open to them and i hope we can figure out how to best get to universal care. in the meantime i have been fighting hard to lower prescription drug costs and other things we can do to allow medicare to negotiate drug prices. i support the ability to have student debt relief. what i want something that is codified in congress, not just another executive order and i want it to be something that is not just about those who are in school now, but for future generations, for those continuing going forward and that is something i think we should all be able to fight for

and address the high cost of education and something we can make sure those generations do not have to handcuff their financial capabilities going forward. moderator: tammy murphy, 30 seconds to respond. tammy murphy: yes, we need to look to the future but coming out of covid with isolation and mental health challenges and learning loss, there are so many challenges in these students who have a tremendous amount of debt right now, i just feel like we have to do both. we have to find a way to have a band-aid here and work towards the future. medicare for all, i cannot say it enough. health care is a right, not a privilege, and we have to treat everyone equally. moderator: andy kim, you have an opportunity to ask tammy murphy a question. 30 seconds. andy kim: you have given

six-figure donations to republicans and voted in republican primaries. earlier you talked about the current republican party left you. but that does not sit well with me when i try thinking about what your positions are so i guess my question to you is, if the current republican party left you, what form of the past republican party are you still ok with? george bush? why is it that you have not changed but instead the republican party has left you? tammy murphy: thank you, congressman. i would reiterate what i have been doing for the last eight years. i have been party building here in new jersey. when my husband was elected or became the candidate in 20 i remember we both thought the state party would be a terrific muscle to be able to get out the vote and really execute on the

democratic agenda and what we found was the state party was broken. physically and in tremendous debt, it was working out of a brownstone in trenton that had enormous amount of mold and people couldn't go into the rooms. anyway, i helped not only raise the funds to turn around, but also relocate the building. -- relocate the party to a new building. i have brought a new leadership and every year since then i have showed up and we have been able to do so much because of the strong party we have come up voter expansion, paid sick leave, paid family leave, all of this is because we have a really strong democratic party and i am proud to be part of it. moderator: 30 seconds for a rebuttal. andy kim: that did not answer my question and frankly it is a lot

-- a question a lot of people are asking. the first lady has donated thousands of dollars to george w. bush, both times, and a platform in 2004 that has three words and it saying we oppose reversion. -- we oppose abortion. i just don't understand it and it is something that worries me a lot about her capacity to represent new jersey in the set it and the democratic party. moderator: you get a 15 the second -- second response. tammy murphy: i have not voted in a republican election and more than 20 years. i've been a democrat for 10 years. i think you have to know what my values are strong democratic core values and i am one who was out every day fighting for our state and making it stronger. moderator: we are going to take

a quick break. we still have some guest questions we will work on and bring you those in the second half of this debate what we want you to stay with us on new jersey debate night between andy kim and tammy murphy. stick around as our panelists dive deeper in the issues and we will be back in about five minutes after a look back at some campaign ads from the past. welcome back to new jersey debate night. we have andy kim and tammy murphy in the first new jersey senate debate presented by the new jersey globe. our panelists this evening are david, joey, mike. we will get back into the questions. i am impressed everyone has stayed in their time limits. it is going quite well. a lot of respect throughout the debate.

the first question of the round goes to tammy murphy. >> the solution calling for a green new deal has been introduced in the senate by ed markey and has 11 cosponsors, including cory booker. if you were in the senate right now, would you cosponsor this? tammy murphy: thank you. david, call it what you want, we have got to deal with climate change urgently. new jersey is the second most susceptible in the country to sea level rise and we have seen the disasters from superstorm sandy, ida,, the loss of life and property. we have to move on this issue immediately. after ida i remember going to irvington and sitting down with a woman named joan mcgee who

lost her husband and daughter. we have to start moving in a direction where we are not being reactive, which we are right now. the storms happen and we call fema and we have damage and we try to get insurance and then rebuild. we have to get the army corps of engineers on the ground in new jersey now to do a master plan and we know where we will be susceptible to erosion and where we should build schools and houses. moderator: andy kim, one minute to respond. andy kim: thank you. i am glad you raised this question because it's at the top of the list of what i hear about. i share the urgency when it comes to that resolution and we have to focus on trying to make sure we make the actual progress going forward in terms of legislation. i was proud to deal with the support and bring into law the

inflation reduction act. it's the largest in our nation's history and it is something we will continue to press on because i have already started talking with colleagues about what we still need to get going to electrify taking the renewable energy to a new level and catalyze our capability and innovation to do so but we have to make sure we are pushing on the gas and to give the next senate an opportunity to pass major legislation. that is what i want to focus on to deliver and make sure the next generation has the kind of security they need. moderator: michael, you are next with a question for andy kim. >> what are american universities getting right and what are they getting wrong when it relates to free speech today? andy kim: right now the main

thing i hear from parents that are scared about kids is safety. i hear it from the students as well so we need to create an environment where everyone feels safe and the huge concern i hear from parents about anti-semitism in the schools, on campuses, concern about hate in all forms, anti-asian hate, islamophobia. it is scary and i think there is a lot that schools need to do better at in terms of fostering an environment where people can feel safe at school, not just students, but the teachers. right now republicans have been doing their best to attack dti and going after the battleground

states in congress and we have to make sure we respect diversity and college universities need to have that conversation and maintain strength. moderator: tammy murphy, your response? tammy murphy: i would say that donald trump opens pandora's box and we have never been able to get the genie back in the bottle. we are so disrespectful of one another, we are so unkind. and we do not put ourselves in each others shoes anymore, we just plow ahead and we need to find a way to be more respectful. it is one of the reasons why i would really like to go to washington because i think we need more women in the conversation in the senate. when women join the conversation you find that enterprises are happier, more successful, statistics show this. if you look at washington, you

do not see a lot of women yelling at one another. marjorie taylor greene aside, aside from her, you really do not see women agitated, you see a lot of angry men. donald trump is an existential threat and i would label him with all of the challenges facing right now. moderator: joey fox, your question goes to tammy murphy. >> president biden is 81. chuck schumer is 73. do you think there is a broader need for generational change in the high echelons of power in washington? tammy murphy: joe biden has done so much for our country and for international alliances and i would tell you at this moment in time he has the experience we need and i am firmly behind the president. i think we have to constantly

encourage new people to join our democracy and my real concern right now is that there is such dysfunction in washington, d.c. and that everyone feels so disconnected and lacking in leadership that we will find people are going to stop voting. that is a peril to democracy. donald trump, i just want to reiterate what i said, he is an existential threat to our country. and while i am talking about him, i am reminded that my opponent actually supported come up one of eight democrats that supported donald trump not only in enabling him to start building his border wall, but also he supported him in not protecting children and sending children to military bases. so there is a few things we have to think about here and donald trump is a real problem and

people who work with trump's are also a problem. moderator: andy kim, your response. andy kim: that was a very bizarre tactic about a question about generational change. i ran for congress to stand up to donald trump. i voted to impeach him twice and voted numerous times to stop the border wall so i just want to clarify that. but the question was not answered by my opponent. yes, people want a change. people are hungry right now for a new generation of leadership to show up and i have been hearing that all over new jersey and the country. yes, we want to make sure we are [inaudible] and it is important because their voices critical right now. i will be the youngest senator in the country.

the first asian-american. but i am also someone who is trying to bring a different perspective. so yes, we want to make sure we are moving in that direction and moving forward as a country. moderator: joey you have a follow-up. >> one word. should chuck schumer continue leading the democratic caucus? tammy murphy: i just want to say to congressman kim, a vote is a vote, no matter what it is. yes, he is doing a great job. moderator: mr. kim, your answer? andy kim: one word, yes. i am happy to support him. moderator: we are going to once again go to our guest question and we have one from jail and

david, a student at ryder in -- writer anniversary. he is going to ask his question and mr. kim will answer first and then tammy murphy. >> i am afraid trump might be elected president again. if he wins what will you do in the senate to respond to his actions and proposals? moderator: mr. kim, were you able to hear that? andy kim: i was. i share those concerns deeply. i am worried about donald trump. he's the reason i stepped up for congress in the first place. he is dangerous. i have worked in the white house before and i have been in the situation room and oval office with president obama and it is terrifying and was terrifying to see donald trump have that power in the white house that i saw. that is why i ran for congress and i hope -- i have stood up

against him and his administration and i voted to impeach him twice in a district that he had won to do what is right for the country but i will also say i outperformed joe biden by eight points and i showed i can build an unlikely coalition, building rather than dividing. i will stand up to his legislative attacks if he is president but i will also [inaudible] moderator: tammy murphy, over to you. tammy murphy: existential threat, without question, i will do everything in my power to push back. i will tell you again that despite what the congressman says, he is one of only eight democrats who has voted to help

donald trump in several situations. first of all, he used disaster relief funds, he voted to use those funds to build the wall. secondly, he voted to use dod funds to reimburse trump properties that were expenses that were accrued. he has not been supportive of children being sent to military bases to go into cages and on top of that during covid he did not support our undocumented immigrants by helping get them mental aid assistance. so he has not proven that he will stand up to donald trump and i assure you that i absolutely will. moderator: andy kim, 30 response -- 30 seconds to respond. andy kim: people know what my record is. we talked about in terms of standing up to trump and how i

have a 100 percent record voting alongside president biden. i want to address the attack where she attacked me for working as a career federal employee. , that is what public service is. it's about serving the country, not the president. it is about being part of this -- working a nonpartisan job. moderator: we will go back to the first guest question, that comes from the executive director of the aclu of new jersey. tammy murphy will respond first to the question. >> we have witnessed an alarming rise of rhetoric by democrats and republicans. some would seek deportations without due process. if elected, what would you do to protect immigrant families and would you be able to push back on members of your own party,

including president biden, if a supported anti-immigrant measures? tammy murphy: thank you. we live in new jersey. we passed ellis island and the statue of liberty daily and we are a country of immigrants and must treat each other with respect. i will tell you that my mother was a first generation immigrant. my father's family escaped bombs and came here in the 1800s. i think about these things all the time and it impacts how i see our world. on immigration we have to secure our border, no question. we must find comprehensive immigration form and give a path to citizenship for the dreamers, for the agricultural workers and construction workers. these people are not bad, they are fleeing their homes because they have to. they have no choice. they are either persecuted or

have no way to support their families. they put themselves on their families in peril to travel to the united states and they want to be part of the american dream and they would like to give back so we need to find a way to support them and move forward together. moderator: andy kim, over to you. andy kim: i am glad this question came up because it needs to be talked about more. the democratic party, we need to talk of a immigration more. i am an immigrant married to an immigrant. this is deeply personal. but in fact does not necessarily give me clarity of all the different challenges immigrants face. i have gone out and talked to them and hear the troubles they are facing. you are right, we need to make sure the democratic party does not take on board the vocabulary of republicans. i have trouble when i hear

president biden say things like shut the border down. we have to find a way for an orderly system. preserve the dignity and decency of human beings and continue to be a country that embraces our immigration and immigrants so that is something i hope to be able to work with. i will stand up to my party as needed. moderator: we have a guest question from sophia, a student at ryder university and after this question, mr. kim gets the first response. >> what can you do in the senate to help students and graduates with crippling student debt? andy kim: this is at the forefront of so many minds right now and i understand the challenges. my wife and i made major

decisions about our lives dealing with the amount of student debt we had. buying car, getting married, having kids, it was a struggle. we can take some immediate steps to deal with this, making sure we have increased pell grant's, if someone received pell grant's when i was younger, it has not kept up with the challenges we face. we should be able to drop student loan percentages as low to zero as possible and not be able to get a loan for a car at a lower percentage than student loan, we should not be trying to make money off the backs of our students. these are steps we should be able to take. we want to make sure we can have the student debt relief and forgiveness, i support biden in those efforts and i hope we can codify it into law. an artist of another president get rid of the executive orders, i want to make sure we can codify it.

tammy murphy: my opponent and the republican extreme side has really pushed back on president biden and his student grants. i would not have done that. as i said, it might be a band-aid for now, but what we have done to the students is encouraged them to make the most of their lives and tried to be as marketable as they can so when they go to college and come out the other side, they are pertinent for debt and they cannot overcome it. we have to give them a lifeline immediately so i would vote to extend forgiveness for the college debt that exists and separately do something that we have done in new jersey, which is make community colleges far more accessible and that should be done nationwide. there is another idea i have been toying with, i think maybe

there is a way in the future we can give a tax break to families who are paying for children to go to college or for students who are paying for themselves to go to college. either way, we have to do what it takes on stand up for the students and make sure everyone is able to pursue their version of the american dream and if that is going to college, help them on the other side. moderator: andy kim, one moment for rebuttal. andy kim: thank. we absolutely need to address this issue. it is top of mind for so many. and not just the education, but the ability to get jobs. i support that but i want to make sure the president can work with us in congress to pass legislation and move this forward by the power of law and i hope we can continue to do that and i will be ready to support the senate to make sure

we get that through and provide relief to so many young americans. moderator: we are going to switch back to the panel. david has a question for tammy murphy. >> the surgeon general issued a public health advisory warning some social media platforms put people, especially young americans, at greater risk for depression. the cdc has said the suicide risk among teenage girls has increased dramatically just in the last couple years. do you have a plan to combat that, and should tech companies be held accountable for what happens on their platforms? tammy murphy: it is interesting because there is so much come up when you hear about tech and ai, people either a really enthusiastic, for example a surgeon i met was talking to me

about all the great strides to make if they had access to ai, and people look at job loss on the other side. with text specifically, i think a lot about congressman cheryl and the deepfake porn bill she has been working on. we all saw what happened at westlake high school and it is unacceptable. the eu has some great, stringent standards they just passed and i think instead of reinventing the wheel, we absolutely should adopt some of those measures here in the u.s. there is a lot we can do and i am looking forward to leaning in on this space but we have to monitor and take care of the mental health of our kids. moderator: andy kim? andy kim: we have an absolute mental health crisis as a nation right now and it is something

where we have not wrap their heads around enough to be able to tackle it with the intensity needed. in particular when it comes to our kids. principals and teachers i talk to, this is a top thing they are talking about in terms of mental health crisis, hearing about middle schoolers who have suicidal ideation, a lot of this is something we are deeply and prepared for so we need to make sure we push forward in terms of making sure we are addressing the mental health crisis, we don't have enough mental health providers to tackle the issue, be able to help schools prepare at a time when a lot of schools don't even have full-time nurses. but yes, we go after as well on the tech side, go to the algorithm, talk about how a lot of these tech companies are pushing this type of images and videos and things like that that

are really affecting the mental health of young americans, we absolutely need to push forward on that and we have legislation trying to do so. moderator: mike, you have a question for andy kim. >> we have seen some accountability this week for donald trump's corporate malfeasance but he is hardly alone. the company of jc p&l saw executives indicted for staggering bribery. are these corporate crimes isolated or part of a wider problem, what presents -- prevents us from learning about them in the first place and what can be done about it? andy kim: we need to have more transparency and accountability in that process. we want to make sure we have the tools available so we can understand how widespread this is. it is clearly something that is more than just isolated incidents, it is something, what

we have seen in terms of the consumer financial bureau, they have uncovered a lot that shines the light on that and have delivered money and returns back to americans but with some of the predatory actions happening on the corruption we see on top of that, they are the type of things we absolutely want to make sure we shine the light on and we cannot have that culture in our government, and or private sector, because it undermines our country, it undermines the trust the citizens having these institutions. i am glad we can try to shine a light on that and i will continue to do so in the u.s. senate. tammy murphy: clearly we need transparency and reform. i am not willing to blanket

lycée -- blanketly say there are many and corporations that are doing the wrong thing but i would say we have to be very careful. there are powers that would like to dismantle our government right now and take away the ability for our government to pursue people who are polluting our waterways and taking away the ability for the government to generally serve in the role we are all looking for them to provide, keeping us safe and allowing each of us to simply live our lives become productive lives, in our communities. as a country and world, we have to find a way to bridge divides and come together. we are so divided and it is really unacceptable. we have to really find a way to trust and put ourselves in other

people's shoes, transparency is important but we also have to be open-minded and not assume everyone is a bad guy. moderator: joey has a question for tammy murphy. >> your campaign is being supported by a super pac called garden state integrity. putting aside the reality of the way campaigns work, in an ideal world, it would be super pac's like that be allowed to exist on what regulations would you like to see put on them? tammy murphy: the amount of money in politics is disgusting. we need to overturn citizens united. i cannot say it more clearly than that. the problem we have, i will anticipate your next question, if that is the case, why are we all raising money in trying to participate at this level? if we don't, the other side will have access to all the supreme

court, our justices, all the elected officials, and we cannot have that. we are fighting in the system we have and i know people are sick and tired of the situation, i am as well, and i think of all the good we could do with a lot of the funds we have to raise in political circles right now. we need to get rid of citizens united. if we could go back and do that at the federal level, we would all be in a better place. moderator: andy kim, your response. andy kim: i agree with first lady tammy murphy about ending citizens united because it has unleashed an incredible amount of damage on our democracy. but there are still ways we as candidates can maintain and show our consistent -- show our constituents we are different.

from my first campaign i said i was not going to take corporate pac money. it is something i held true to. i get it, i am only one of a few people in congress that has held to that but it's important for people to know who i am fighting for. i am not taking any corporate tax money. the first lady and her first few weeks has already taken corporate pac money in her very first campaign. it just shows the difference in our approach. we are running two different campaigns and have different visions about how to proceed to tackle the issue of corporate special interests and other problems. tammy murphy: i cannot be more clear with you. we are all struggling within the system we have. do i wish the system was different, yes. it is not. we all work within the confines of what we have today and i have

not personally taken a dime of the super pac. i do not plan to do so. moderator: we have time now for the last guest question of the evening, coming from a student from rider university. >> this will be the first election i am able to participate in and some concerns or income equality and finding a decent place to live. [inaudible] to be able to afford a decent first home. andy kim: it is at the top of the list, the number one issue i have heard on the campaign trail about, affordability and the challenges, especially from younger americans who as you talked about sheer amount of

student debt carrie and the challenges of outrageously high rental cost on housing prices right now. students are scared they will not be able to afford a house. i supported legislation to make sure we can have financial support for first-time homebuyers to make sure we provide rental assistance. these things are necessary. we also want to make sure we are addressing the fundamental issues of economic inequality. this is the greatest amount of in -- income inequality in our nations history. it's about taxes on health care reform at things like that are vital to the effort to make sure hours due to -- to make sure our students will have greater opportunities going forward. tammy murphy: affordability, we

live in an incredibly expensive state and we get a lot back to that but it does not make anyone feel good. the affordability issue comes up in everything from housing to childcare to prescription drug prices. we need to push back on all of the above and obviously we have already spoken about college affordability. the first thing i would do if i were in the senate would i would absolutely make sure we unleash the salt deductions. there should be ways we can bring money in for college affordability, we need to work on advancing the inflation reduction act and make sure we are expanding that for everyone in our society but i think we have to get more grants to help and to that hedge funds cannot buy up all the homes in new

jersey because they are pricing people out of the market. there are so many things to do, i need to have a longer conversation with you. moderator: michael, the last question is for you for tammy murphy first and then andy kim. >> it is state tradition to complain about how much we send to washington versus how much we get back. the federal income tax is progressive and most federal assistance is income based. it is what we sent him get back from washington fair after all? how should the tax burden be balanced differently? tammy murphy: i am starting, right? moderator: correct. tammy murphy: ok. the burden on the middle class, on our seniors, we all see it and everyone is getting squeezed

in new jersey. i think again what i would say, we have to reverse the cap, and everything i was talking about from housing to childcare, i met a woman the other day who is working two jobs to send one child off to childcare three days a week. it is crazy. $1400 a month. we have to find ways to make life more sustainable in new jersey and i think we can but we need someone who will fight for all of the funding, transit, housing, infrastructure funds, funds with health care. there are many ways we can tackle this and i am really looking forward to doing just that. moderator: i do not think i have ever had to candidates stay close -- as close to on time as

possible. i am so sorry, andy, my apologies. andy kim: i'm not going to give you a chance to be able to ring your bell. i agree with the first lady, we need to make sure we get our fair amount back to new jersey and i am sure both of us would fight hard to do so. i have been fighting hard when it comes to passing the infrastructure law. we have to make sure we keep our promise to get rid of every leadpipe in new jersey and we have investment into universal broadband we promised our consistent -- constituents. at a legislative level we will hold the feet to the fire of any administration to make sure we get our fair share back. i know i'm biased but i run the

strongest constituent operation service in the country and we have been able to get tens of millions of dollars back to our constituents, when it comes to veterans, social security, medicare. we will use every tool at our disposal and i would love to be able to run that operation to make that happen. moderator: i want to thank our panel for the questions. it is time to go to the closing statements and we will start with andy kim. the order was determined by the coin toss. each candidate has 90 seconds for the closing statements. andy kim: thank you for organizing the hall and thank you everyone for watching. i know we have gone through a lot of different issues and there are a lot of challenges we face right now in the country and sometimes they can feel overwhelming.

sometimes it feels like things are spinning out of control in the world right now. sometimes i feel the weight upon me as i wonder what we can try to do to give our kids a better life. the toughest day i had in congress so far was january 6 and i remember the difficulty i had coming back to my family and trying to explain to my kids what happened and why we saw americans fighting each other at the u.s. capitol. when i tried to learn from that experience and convey is it does not have to be this way. we can choose a different path. i have been saying this a lot lately, i believe the opposite of democracy is apathy. we have to fight and stay engaged. what motivates us, what pushes us to do that? i call that our northstar. my north star is my kids.

i will fight and do everything possible for my kids. i ask you to think about what is it you think about the moment you wake up, the last thing you worry about at the end of the day? fight for that. have that be in your mind when you think about who you vote for and i hope i can earn your support and i humbly ask for your vote to be the next senator from new jersey. thank you. tammy murphy: i have spent my life working in public service for others. and giving back to the community, it has been at the heart and soul of my being and i have done it over the course of time with a number of different organizations, institutions, and different ways. i really feel so passionately

that the world is not going in the right place for the next generation and we need a change. we need people who are not looking at this as a career, but who are going to come in unafraid. i am unafraid to take on the big challenges. give me the gun lobby, i will take them on. i was with gabby giffords last saturday in washington and we talked about gun legislation and what is possible for the world. i think all the time about the people i have met around our state where affordability is a challenge. hosea is a vet and he cannot figure out how to get to the va hospital. we have so many things and 70 people who are looking for a new

path forward and i will just tell you, i may not have a track record in washington, but the last thing washington needs right now is more washington, d.c. and my opponent has sided with the trump administration and republicans so many times, please check out his record if you do not leave me. please join me, tammy murphy for senate.com and i would like to say to the panelists and everyone that this is fun and i hope we can do it again. moderator: that concludes new jersey debate night. i would like to thank the candidates for their time and responses. thank you to our panel and thank you you also to the new jersey globe and rider university for this debate and to c-span for airing the debate. we invite you to stay tuned because immediately following, we have a conversation with the panelists to talk more about the debate to get their reaction and

insight. i laura jones. primary election day is june 4 in new jersey. thank you for watching. ♪

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