Hamm Ramps Up NJ Senate Campaign, Criticizes Debate Requirements

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A Montclair resident with deep ties to Newark continues his push to replace embattled U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez in New Jersey.

Lawrence Hamm – a longtime activist and organizer in Essex County – is among the candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring for a seat in New Jersey’s 2024 U.S. Senate race. He is vying for the Democratic Party nomination in the upcoming primary election.

On Friday, Hamm will be holding a public “meet and greet” event at 6 p.m. at Local 1233 Union Hall, 19 Fenwick Street in Newark.

Another meet and greet event for Hamm will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 at First Bethel Baptist Church, 860 18th Avenue in Irvington.

Hamm said that he plans to speak about two issues at the campaign events.

DEBATE

One item on Hamm’s checklist? An upcoming senatorial debate on Sunday, Feb. 18 that will include two of the frontrunners he’s challenging this year.

The 90-minute debate – sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey, and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University – will include appearances from Democratic Party candidates Tammy Murphy and Andy Kim, who both qualified under the Globe’s requirements. Menendez has also been invited to participate if he announces his candidacy by Feb. 11.

According to the Globe, candidates were asked to meet the following criteria by Feb. 11: $750,000 raised and a public endorsement by Democratic elected officials and municipal/county party chairs from at least five municipalities; or 10 percent of the vote at the Feb. 10 Monmouth County Democratic convention.

Hamm criticized the debate requirements, calling them “onerous” and “anti-democratic.” He alleged that he and other candidates are being “locked out” of the discussion.

“I demand an open debate in which all of the declared candidates in the Democratic senate primary are allowed to participate,” Hamm said. “Voters should have an opportunity to see and hear all the candidates debate the issues they are concerned about.”

Another candidate for the Democratic Party nomination has also protested being left out of the debate.

“It is no secret that New Jersey’s political machine makes it hard for working-class people to participate in our democratic process,” Patricia Campos-Medina told the Globe.

According to Ballotpedia, the candidate list for the 2024 U.S. Senate race in New Jersey includes a large field of hopefuls as of Jan. 26:

• DEMOCRAT – Bob Menendez, Patricia Campos-Medina, Kevin Cupples, Lawrence Hamm, Andrew Kim, Patrick Merrill, Tammy Murphy
• REPUBLICAN – Curtis Bashaw, Daniel Cruz, Michael Estrada, Albert Harshaw, Shirley Maia-Cusick, Gregg Mele, Justin Murphy, Christine Serrano-Glassner
• THIRD PARTY/INDEPENDENT – Christina Khalil (Green Party of NJ), Nick Carducci (Independent)

Hamm and Campos-Medina aren’t the only New Jersey political candidates to complain about being left out of critical debates in recent years.

When Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, took on his Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli in 2021, the Libertarian and Green Party candidates each made similar protests when they were excluded from a series of gubernatorial debates because they didn’t meet the fundraising threshold of $490,000.

Those debates were sponsored by several groups and news organizations, including the NJ Performing Arts Center, WABC-TV‚ WPVI-TV‚ 6-ABC Philadelphia‚ Twitter‚ Univision‚ WBGO-FM‚ NJ Advance Media, the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics and Rutgers School of Public Affairs, the New Jersey Globe‚ Rebovich Institute of Politics at Rider University‚ Project Ready, Public Media NJ Inc., NJ Spotlight News‚ Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University‚ New York Public Radio‚ WNYC & The Gothamist.

• See Related: 'Big Money' Rules NJ Governor Debates, Third-Party Candidates Say
• See Related: NJ Gov Candidate: $490K Debate Fundraising Quota Is A 'Travesty'

ISRAEL-PALESTINE

Hamm also said he plans to speak about the ongoing war in Israel-Palestine at the upcoming meet and greet events in Newark and Irvington.

“I was uplifted by the landmark decision of the International Court Of Justice to reject Israel’s application to throw out the case brought by South Africa accusing it of committing genocide against the Palestinians,” Hamm said.

“However, I am deeply disappointed that the court did not call for an immediate ceasefire,” Hamm added, repeating a call that he and other politicians in North Jersey have been making since war broke out in October.

Hamm is also calling for a “halt to all military aid to Israel” until the war comes to an end.

• See Related: Senate Candidate From NJ Calls For Ceasefire In Israel-Gaza War

LARRY HAMM: HALF-DECADE OF ACTIVISM

It isn’t the first foray into federal candidacy for Hamm, 69, who ran for U.S. Senate against Cory Booker in 2020 – nabbing nearly 119,000 votes along the way.

That same year, Hamm – a self-described “radical” – was also chair of the Bernie Sanders campaign in New Jersey. In 2016, Hamm served as a Sanders delegate to the National Democratic Convention.

When the Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988, Hamm was co-chair of the 1988 campaign in New Jersey, and was a Jackson delegate to the Democratic National Convention that year.

Hamm’s political journey began in 1971 when as a high school student and student government leader he led a walkout, march and sit-in over student concerns. This led to his appointment at age 17 to the Newark Board of Education by then-mayor Kenneth Gibson, making him the youngest school board member in the nation.

After serving a three-year term on the school board, he completed his undergraduate studies at Princeton University and graduated cum laude with a degree in politics.

While at Princeton, Hamm was a leader in the campus anti-apartheid movement, which was struggling to get Princeton to divest its stock holdings in companies doing business with the racist apartheid regime in South Africa. After several protests and a building takeover, the university ultimately divested from several corporations – a victory that Hamm still remembers.

After graduating from Princeton Hamm returned to Newark. In 1982, he became founder and chairman of the POP, a grassroots organization that fights for “racial, social and economic justice.” Read More: They Helped Lead Newark's George Floyd Protest; What's Next?

“I am running for the U.S. Senate because I want to make life better for people in this country,” Hamm said of his latest political aspirations.

“Our government must work for the benefit of all the people, not just the rich and powerful,” Hamm continued. “As senator, I will fight for Medicare For All, a $15 per hour federal minimum wage, cancellation of student debt, free college, reparations for African Americans, protection and expansion of social security, and other programs, policies and legislation to help people.”

• See Related: Newark 'Radical' Celebrates 50 Years Of Activism – By Protesting

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