N.J.-12 candidates debate ICE, Israel, and more at Rider University

The New Jersey Globe and Rider University hosted a debate on Sunday night with nine of the 12 Democratic candidates running to represent New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, which includes Princeton. The three Democratic candidates not present did not reach the fundraising or endorsement thresholds to qualify for the debate.

The event, which was held at Rider University in Lawrenceville, had over 100 live attendees, and the livestream posted on YouTube has over 2,500 views.

During the debate, candidates discussed issues including military aid for Israel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and potential responses to President Donald Trump’s policies.

Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson repeatedly brought up Trump by name in many of her answers, calling him “the problem” and describing herself as “battle-tested” and ready to fight his administration. “Everything is back to Trump. I’m sorry, I just can’t help it,” she said.

Former White House and Department of Energy official Jay Vaingankar went on the offensive, calling out other candidates for their stances on Israel and their campaign funding.

In response to a question about whether the U.S. should provide any military aid to Israel, Vaingankar said, “It is time to restrict aid to the Netanyahu regime and directly sanction the genocidal ministers that continue to keep us in this crisis.”

Pivoting to other candidates, he claimed that when Sue Altman “ran in a red district, [she] said, ‘I support unconditional aid.’ Now, she’s running in a blue district and says, ‘Oh, well maybe we need to block the bombs.’” He continued, “We’ve got folks like my friend the assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, who says ‘I support Israel.’ She’s been attending AIPAC conferences since 2018 … Then we’ve got Mayor Brad Cohen, who openly describes himself as a card-carrying member of AIPAC,” using an acronym for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

“I am the only candidate in this race that AIPAC has actually endorsed against. When I ran against Tom Kean Jr., AIPAC endorsed Tom Kean Jr.,” Altman said in response.

Altman also clarified her position on U.S. funding for Israel. During her 2024 run for Congress, she expressed support for continued U.S. aid to Israel and then-President Joe Biden’s approach to the war in Gaza. Earlier this year, Altman said she supports the Block the Bombs Act, which would block a wide range of offensive weapons from being sold or transferred to Israel. At Sunday’s debate, Altman took the stance that the U.S. should not fund Israel’s Iron Dome system.

“I believe that we should not be sending our taxpayer money to Israel to kill civilians, but I also think the Iron Dome should exist. Israel is a prosperous country, however, and it doesn’t need our money to support the Iron Dome. It can pay for it on its own,” Altman said.

“[Altman] believes American taxpayers should no longer be subsidizing military aid to Israel,” wrote Altman’s campaign manager Rob West in a statement to The Daily Princetonian following the debate.

Reynolds-Jackson, who earlier in the debate had said, “I support Israel,” reiterated her position and did not deny Vaingankar’s assertions.

“I am not afraid to say that I am pro-Israel, and I am pro-Muslim. These are people that deserve to live in peace,” she said.

Brad Cohen, who has consistently differentiated himself from many of his opponents due to his open support of Israel and U.S. military funding for the country, again asserted his stance.

“We have allies throughout the world that we support with military aid. That aid should not only be for defense, which Israel uses to defend its citizens, 20 percent of which are Muslim. It also must be able to fight back when attacked,” Cohen said.

Immigration reform was another tensely discussed issue that had a variety of reactions. Some candidates including Vaingankar, Adam Hamawy, and Reynolds-Jackson have expressed support for the abolition of ICE. Others, such as Cohen and Plainfield mayor Adrian Mapp, have suggested reforms rather than total abolition of the agency.

Princeton neuroscience professor Sam Wang, who has supported abolishing ICE, stated that “ICE needs to be replaced by an agency that enforces immigration through civilian means, not through mass paramilitary, not through kidnapping innocent people, not through shooting people in the streets of Minneapolis or any other city.”

Reynolds-Jackson said that the Trump administration is using ICE “illegally,” and that the funding for ICE should instead go towards the Federal Emergency Management Agency or education.

Altman called the immigration system “a political football that both parties have used for the better part of 30 years to maintain their own power.” She called for the abolition of ICE and “a pathway to citizenship for people who are already here.”

Mapp, on the other hand, stated, “The fact of the matter is, we need an agency in order to defend our borders and to carry out our immigration laws.”

In response to Mapp’s comments, Vaingankar said that “these sorts of half-measures … are why Democrats lose elections.”

Hamawy later said that “there is no redeeming ICE,” adding that “it has been targeting Black and brown communities, and we have to start anew.” He then called for the dismantling of the Department of Homeland Security, saying that agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Transportation Security Administration should not be under the same department as ICE, because issues with one agency may jeopardize funding for the others.

Wang took a slightly different tone, saying that “being reactive against power is a good first step.” He then called for “a long-term plan to make sure that acts like this never happen again.” Wang pointed to a need to have a “Supreme Court that is not going to stand in the way of Congress exercising its power,” suggesting re-examining the size of the Supreme Court and potential term limits for the Justices.

Squire Servance, a candidate who serves on the board of Rutgers University, noted that “it seems like the current administration only really understands litigation,” and called for legal measures against ICE detention centers.

Affordability in the state was a recurring theme throughout the debate. Reynolds-Jackson highlighted a need for lower housing costs, saying, “I’m talking about housing that Jay [Vaingankar] can buy so he can get out of his parents’ house.” She further suggested banning banks from buying local single-family homes.

Following the debate, Vaingankar’s campaign manager Devontae Freeland confirmed to the ‘Prince’ that Reynolds-Jackson’s assertion was accurate.

“New Jersey has the highest rate in the country of young people aged 25-35 who live with their parents — including Jay. He’s running for Congress because he feels the urgency of the cost of living crisis more than his opponents who live in mansions and write their campaigns six-figure checks. Central Jersey is done with limousine liberals,” Freeland wrote.

Vaingankar further attacked Hamawy, Cohen, Servance, and Wang regarding campaign financing. “It’s one thing to say our democracy is not for sale. It’s another to buy it yourself,” Vaingankar said.

“The two biggest fundraisers on this stage, let’s just be clear here, are two doctors who live in mansions, and they want to lecture us about how expensive healthcare is. All the while, they both have multimillion dollar super [political action committees] that they’re not allowed to talk about. This is just ridiculous,” Vaingankar said. “And I have so much respect for my friends up here — folks like Squire, folks like Sam — but let’s be honest, you both would not be on this stage and would not have met the fundraising threshold to qualify to be up here if you had not written yourself six-figure checks in self-funding.”

Campaign filings show that Wang gave $110,000 to his campaign. Servance has donated over $150,000 to his campaign.

Hamawy and Cohen, both doctors, have reported the greatest fundraising totals so far in the race. The most recent campaign filing period ended on March 31. American Priorities PAC, a new super PAC founded to counter pro-Israel groups, has spent $600,000 on ads in support of Hamawy, and it intends to spend more on the race.

No super PAC has publicly spent in support of Cohen this election cycle thus far. However, Cohen has been open about being a member of AIPAC, a group which has drawn controversy for its involvement in Democratic primaries.

“I have not taken any corporate PAC money, I’m not a multimillionaire,” Cohen said in response to Vaingankar’s comments. “I’m not going to apologize for being successful. I’ve put a limited amount of my own money into this campaign, and I have not taken any corporate PAC money,” he added.

Hamawy responded by saying, “I am not self-funding my campaign. I’m happy to be able to say that I will not and have not taken any corporate PAC money, and I will not take any money from any corrupt special interests. I am for ending Citizens United. I am for getting dark money out of politics.”

Similarly, Servance affirmed that he “did write a check to the campaign,” saying that “I invested in this campaign because I want to do what’s right for you. The reality is, investment doesn’t wake me up at five in the morning to go out and canvass at train stations at 5:30.”

“I will not apologize for being successful in business. I will not apologize for being successful in law. That is who I am, that is my background,” Servance said. “Look, I know you’re 28: you’ll have your time to grow,” he said of Vaingankar.

Wang responded by pointing to his past experience working on elections.

“I have put a lot of effort into making elections fairer and working for democracy. Now, it is true that we have a fundamental basic problem with money in politics, and this needs long-term basic solutions. We need to start thinking about harnessing Congress’ power to do that. That can be with public financing,” Wang said.

“It would also be possible to think really far ahead, like smaller House districts, so we can focus on meeting voters instead of talking with donors,” he added.

Emily Murphy is a senior News writer, senior Copy editor, and chief correspondent regarding the N.J.–12 congressional election. She is from New York City, and she can be reached at emurphy[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Oliver Wu contributed reporting.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.