CNN's Manu Raju Asks Josh Gottheimer: How 'Damaged' Is The Democratic Brand Name?

On Sunday, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) spoke to CNN's Manu Raju about his campaign to be New Jersey Governor.

Transcript

00:00In 2024, New Jersey swung more to the right than almost every other state in the nation.

00:05And now they're holding one of the most important races in this off-cycle year,

00:09a battle to be the next governor. An early referendum on President Trump and the state

00:14of the Democratic Party. Primary day is next Tuesday, and a crowded field of 11 candidates

00:19has spent an eye-popping $77.5 million so far in ads. Joining me now is one of the Democrats

00:27battling for his party's nomination, New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer. Mr. Gottheimer,

00:31thank you so much for being here on this very busy morning for you. Good to see you. Absolutely.

00:35We have a new poll out this morning that really shows the depths of the problems facing your own

00:41party right now. Just 16% of Americans say Democrats are the party of strong leaders,

00:47and only 19% say the party can get things done. That is far worse than where the GOP stands.

00:54So six months after the last election, why are Democrats still unable to connect with the

01:00American public?

01:03Well, Amano, first of all, thanks again for having me. I think I've been in, I go around

01:07diners all across Jersey because it's Jersey, and we do everything good starts in a diner.

01:11And what I hear from people is a huge focus on economic issues, right? People are struggling,

01:17whether between utility bills and their taxes and food prices and what Trump's doing with this

01:23chaos to setting prices even higher and messing with their retirement savings. So people are

01:28under a huge amount of stress. And what I'm hearing here in Jersey, that's all I can talk about, is

01:33people see what's going on with Trump and the chaos, and they want actually an alternative.

01:37And the key for Democrats, and this is what my whole race is focused on, is actually showing them

01:42that Democrats are focused on making their lives more affordable, getting costs down, getting taxes

01:46down, and showing them a pathway forward where they don't have to have this anxiety, which I think

01:51was why the election last time was so, you know, so close here in Jersey, and obviously why the

01:56ultimate poll didn't go well for Democrats.

01:58But as you have been going around these diners, how damaged is the Democratic brand right now?

02:04Well, I think what they want to hear is that what's our vision? Not just, of course, that we're

02:08taking on Trump, which we are and I am. We got to fight him everywhere. Anytime he messes with a family

02:13here in Jersey, we're standing up to him. But they also want to know where we're going,

02:18right, what our direction is. And I think that's the key there is all about the economy and showing

02:22them that that's our number one focus. Can you afford to feed your kids, put clothes on their

02:26back, pay your bills, you know, with housing prices and rents where they are? People are really

02:30struggling. And I think our challenge is, and this is, you know, really what I've, that's why I've been

02:35so focused on this, is actually explaining where we're going, how I'm going to lead Jersey to make

02:39make people's lives more affordable here, get their costs and taxes down. And I don't think

02:44they're getting that message nationally. It's like, as, as your panel was just saying, I think

02:48there's some tension on actually what our message is going forward. So I could just speak to what I'm

02:52talking to people in Jersey about. And I know it's working because they, that's actually what they

02:57engage in. They want to know, what are you going to do to make sure that I can feed my kids,

03:01right? That we're going to actually fight Trump when he messes with social security or Medicaid

03:05or Medicare. And what are we going to make sure that I can afford to live here and retire here?