Few places in America have been hit harder by the coronavirus and its economic fallout than New York and New Jersey. The region is in need of strong representation in Washington. Though many eyes are on the Senate, several competitive House races here could also help reshape Congress.
New York’s First District, Eastern Long Island
We endorse Nancy Goroff, the Democrat and a scientist with a passion for fighting climate change.
Ms. Goroff, the former head of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University on Long Island, would be a refreshing addition to a Congress filled with lawyers. For years, she focused on research to help make solar energy more affordable. Now, she hopes to put that scientific background to work in Washington to help protect the environment — a key issue in a district with miles of shoreline and farmland. She has promised to defend the Affordable Care Act and supported an effort to extend health care to uninsured employees at Stony Brook University.
This would be an especially good time for Washington to have the kind of scientific expertise and perspective Ms. Goroff would bring.
She is in a tough fight. The Eastern Long Island district voted for Barack Obama twice but swung to Donald Trump in 2016. Her opponent, a Republican incumbent, Representative Lee Zeldin, is a loyal Trump supporter.
New York’s 19th District, the Hudson Valley and Catskills
Representative Antonio Delgado is an impressively productive member of Congress. After unseating a powerful Republican congressman in 2018, Mr. Delgado has introduced dozens of pieces of legislation.
Mr. Delgado is a traditional Democrat who supports reproductive rights, voting rights and access to health care. He is the kind of public servant who fights for every constituent in his district, a largely rural area north of New York City. Farmers in New York’s 19th Congressional District especially have found a fierce advocate in Mr. Delgado, a Rhodes scholar who grew up in upstate New York. Several of his bills, focusing on aid to family farms, have been signed into law by President Trump.
This freshman Democrat has earned a second term.
His opponent, the Republican Kyle Van De Water, supports the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, opposes reproductive rights and defends his party’s repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that has been so punishing for the district he aims to represent. Mr. Van De Water is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and a recipient of the Bronze Star. His service is to be commended. But he speaks in talking points more appropriate to Fox News than the halls of Congress, views that are out of step in this moderate district.
New Jersey’s Seventh District, Northwestern New Jersey
It’s hard to find a member of Congress better suited to serve the country than Representative Tom Malinowski, a former diplomat who has promoted human rights and democratic values around the world. In a time of rising extremism, Mr. Malinowski, a freshman Democrat, helped restore essential funding to fight domestic terrorism. This week, he introduced legislation aimed at preventing the spread of disinformation through large social media platforms like Facebook whose algorithms sometimes promote extremist content.
Mr. Malinowski has also delivered much-needed infrastructure dollars to his suburban district toward the Gateway Project, a critical effort to shore up access to New York City from the surrounding region. He is a strong supporter of health care and reasonable gun control measures, as well as reproductive freedom.
Mr. Malinowski’s opponent, Thomas Kean Jr., is the minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate. Like Mr. Malinowski, Mr. Kean Jr. has a good understanding of key local issues like infrastructure. Unfortunately, Mr. Kean Jr. has allowed his party to resort to lies and attack ads on his behalf that spread dangerous conspiracy theories. He also voted against elements of implementing the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Malinowski is clearly the better choice in this race.
These endorsements are not meant to be comprehensive; voters across this region have many talented candidates to choose from. Instead, they are meant to serve as examples of the kind of leadership we believe the country needs in Washington: people of all walks of life who will represent every American.
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Source: Elections - nytimes.com
