The New Jersey State AFL-CIO is proud to endorse Tom Malinowski, the leader we want to send to Washington to represent the 7th District.
Recent polls show Tom Malinowski narrowly leading Rep. Leonard Lance in District 7—a race many analysts are saying is key to deciding whether Republicans or Democrats will be in control of Congress after the election.
“We all know what’s at stake here in this election. We are in a very lucky position, because we are, for once, a swing district,” Malinowski said in an interview, emphasizing District 7’s status as one of possibly two dozen districts in the U.S. that could flip the control of Congress from Republican to Democrat. “A few hundred votes could determine where this country goes at a pivotal moment in our political history.”
Malinowski has fought for human rights all of his life. Recently, as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor under President Obama, he helped lead our global fight to defend the human rights of women and LGBTQ people, to protect workers in trade agreements, to safeguard privacy on the internet, to root out corruption, and to stand up to dictators like Putin and Kim Jong-Un.
Now, Malinowski says he’s running for Congress because everything he’s worked for on behalf of our country is under attack by our own President and his Republican enablers.
On his campaign website, Malinowski writes, “Trump may have won an election; I don’t want him to win the argument about who we are as a nation.”
He adds, “We have so much work to do: repeal and replace the Republican tax bill that is so harmful to our district, fight for affordable healthcare, protect our environment, invest in our infrastructure, advance women’s rights, and defend our democracy at home. I want to make sure that the people of the 7th District are heard and I am committed to listening; in town halls, in the grocery store…this district deserves a Congressman that answers to them.”
As a member of Congress, Malinowski will defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While he admits the ACA was not perfect, he says it made things better. For instance, the uninsured rate decreased by half; essential benefits like maternity care were guaranteed; mental health coverage vastly expanded; children could stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they were 26, and no American could be denied health care because of a pre-existing condition.
On the contrary, his opponent, Congressman Lance, voted to repeal affordable healthcare 19 different times. He also voted another 45 times to take out essential elements of the ACA. This, according to Malinowski, is an undeniable pattern of partisan behavior in which Lance turned his back on the families he is supposed to represent.
Unlike Congressman Lance, who has ties to the Koch brothers and efforts to bust public employee unions, Malinowski will place the needs of working families first and has pledged to fight against the Conservative attack on collective bargaining rights in this country. He also supports raising the minimum wage to $15 and repealing the GOP tax law.
Another top priority for Malinowski is securing investments to build and maintain roads, bridges, railways, and tunnels. In particular, he will focus his efforts on the Gateway tunnel project. According to him, this tunnel is vital for the economic well-being of District 7 and should be viewed as an economic and national security priority by the federal government. He claims he will work with Democrats and Republicans in Congress who know that critical infrastructure is a non-partisan issue to ensure that Washington keeps its commitment to fund the project.
How you vote is your decision, of course. But the New Jersey State AFL-CIO has done the research, and Tom Malinowski is clearly the best choice for working families.