“Rep. Andy Kim is a staunch advocate for Ocean and Burlington Counties. Whether it’s holding government and large corporations accountable, working in a bipartisan fashion to lower the costs of prescription drugs or securing and delivering Lysol to an Ocean County small business owner in need, Andy has proven he’s willing to roll-up his sleeves and work with anyone to deliver for South Jersey. That’s the grit, determination, and compassion voters have come to expect from Andy and that will earn him another term come November.”—DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Christine Bennett, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: July 8, 2020
Subject: The Case Against David Richter
David Richter is a district shopping, flip-flopping, shady businessman who is running for Congress to enrich himself, not serve the people of South Jersey. Last year, David Richter couldn’t even be bothered to run for Congress in this district. Richter mounted a failed run in NJ-02 and threw in the towel after Jefferson Van Drew’s party switch forced him out of the race.
Not only did Richter first run to represent another district in New Jersey, but he recently wasn’t even a resident of New Jersey. Richter maintained property in Florida, where he voted in 2018, and violated New Jersey state law by driving with an out-of-state license as recently as April 2019.
Richter is bad for South Jersey workers and families. As a businessman, Richter took away over 100 jobs after moving his headquarters out-of-state for the tax benefits. And when it comes to health care, Richter shares the same view as Washington Republicans and would only further their reckless agenda in Congress.
Rep. Andy Kim, on the other hand, is a champion for South Jersey and a relentless advocate for the people of Ocean and Burlington Counties. Rep. Kim works hard to get things done and isn’t worried about the politics or credit. Working with Republicans and Democrats, Kim has passed laws lowering the cost of prescription drugs. During the pandemic, he has worked with federal, state, and local officials to get local hospitals the resources they need with additional funding, testing sites and help from the U.S. military. And as a member of the bipartisan House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Rep. Kim holds government and large corporations accountable, conducting oversight over programs aimed at ending the Coronavirus pandemic and helping address the economic impact it has had on the American people.
Rep. Kim wrote a bill to provide loans to local small businesses so they can get through this challenging time and fought to extend unemployment coverage, worked to restore local and state tax deductions and generate more jobs and businesses around the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Andy Kim has built a strong brand as someone who works hard to get things done and that will earn him a second term come November. Voters of South Jersey now have the clear choice between a servant leader with a record of delivering for South Jersey families, corrupt and self-serving businessman who shipped jobs across state lines for the tax benefits.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: The Paramedics Couldn’t Find Lysol. They Turned to Their Congressman. [The New York Times, 4/25/2020]
“Paul Daley, the director of emergency management in Toms River, N.J., said he contacted Mr. Kim’s office “more out of frustration than anything” when he reached out to say that his paramedics were out of the Lysol spray they urgently needed to sanitize their ambulances after transporting patients to the hospital. He was not expecting anything, but could the congressman help?
Two days later, Mr. Kim’s office called back. They had located 78 cans of Lysol in a Walmart an hour and a half away in Pennsylvania — and had arranged for a team to hand-deliver the supplies to the fleet, based in Ocean County.
“It’s like gold,” Mr. Daley said.”
HEADLINE: Rep. Andy Kim’s Health Care Bill Approved By The Full House [Burlington County Times, 5/20/2019]
“Kim’s bill, known as the SAVE Act, was incorporated into expansive legislation approved by the House Thursday to both buttress the Affordable Care Act and curb prescription drug prices.”
HEADLINE: Veterans’ Stories Focus Of Kim Town Hall At Ocean County College [Patch.com, 9/9/2019]
HEADLINE: Businesses, Towns And Schools Near Joint Base May Receive Help From New Kim Bill [Burlington County Times, 6/30/2020]
HEADLINE: Richter Angers GOP Primary Opponents By Switching Districts [Sandpaper.net, 2/12/2020]
HEADLINE: Rivals Richter, Gibbs Deride, Offer Few Solutions in CD3 GOP Primary Fracas [Insider NJ, 6/29/2020]
HEADLINE: DCCC Attacks Richter Over Novak Endorsement [The New Jersey Globe, 4/9/2020]
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee attacked House candidate David Richter over an endorsement from former a rival, Barnegat Mayor John Novak.
“In accepting and embracing John Novak, David Richter has made clear that he embraces his most extreme policies, including gutting protections for New Jerseyans with preexisting conditions and raising the costs of health care,” said DCCC Spokesperson Christine Bennett. “Voters in New Jersey’s 3rd district want steady, sound leadership, not recklessness, and that’s why they will reelect Andy Kim come November.”
David Richter: A District Shoppin’, Flip-Floppin’, Shady Businessman Out for Himself, Not New Jersey Voters
THE THIRD DISTRICT WAS HIS THIRD CHOICE
Up until this year, David Richter was not interested in representing New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District. He instead opted to challenge incumbent Van Drew for his seat in Atlantic County. He continued to run against Van Drew, defying requests from the White House to clear the way for the Republicans’ newest vulnerable incumbent. Richter “stated clearly” that he “intended to continue” to pursue the Republican nomination in the 2nd district, not the 3rd district. And White House advisor and New Jersey native Kellyanne Conway seemed to imply that Richter should give up running for Congress at all, stating “there are many ways to contribute short of running for Congress,” Richter was “blackballed” by national Republicans and consultants. Not exactly the White House endorsement he was hoping for.
After failing to run in Florida and NJ-02, Richter may have decided the 3rd district was good enough for him, but voters will have the final say. They know that Richter has never been their champion, and they’ll remember that in November.
New Jersey’s 3rd district is Andy Kim’s top priority. He’s worked tirelessly on behalf of his constituents, authoring 16 bills, four of which have already been signed into law by President Trump.
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS DAVID RICHTER?
The world’s most elusive character has nothing on David Richter.
Richter voted in Miami Beach, Florida, where he rented a home in 2018. Richter, who lived far outside of the 3rd district in Princeton for years, rented a home in Florida where he planned to move. His opponents have said that he purchased property in the state to ultimately run for Congress there, and he even voted in Florida’s 2018 elections. Richter’s Florida condo was on sale for nearly $3 million in February of this year. Additionally, Richter was charged in North Brunswick for using an out-of-state license in New Jersey in 2019.
Voters don’t have to question Andy Kim’s priorities because he’s kept his promise to be accessible, transparent and present. Rep. Kim held over 20 in-person town halls and has visited 42 townships. He’s toured eight local health facilities and has participated in nearly 30 meeting highlighting local veterans issues in his first year in Congress alone.
WAR ON NEW JERSEY WORKERS AND FAMILIES
Over 100 jobs were moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia under Richter’s leadership of his family company, Hill International, and Richter collected nearly $2 million in tax breaks for the firm after uprooting the company. Richter implied that New Jersey wasn’t offering enough in incentives to keep him in-state, showing that for Richter making money and enriching himself was his main motivation, not saving New Jersey jobs.
Unlike Richter, Andy Kim is working to protect jobs in New Jersey. He’s used his position on the Small Business Committee to advocated for small business owners in his district and is working to extend assistance and loans to South Jersey businesses during the pandemic. He also helped pass a bipartisan bill that provided tax relief to New Jersey taxpayers.
RUBBERSTAMP FOR WASHINGTON REPUBLICANS RECKLESS AGENDA ON HEALTH CARE
Time and again, voters have named quality, affordable health care as the top issue keeping them awake at night. But David Richter clearly doesn’t share those priorities. Richter donated $6,600 to failed former Congressman Tom MacArthur who was booted from office after writing the AHCA amendment to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Richter was noticeably silent on the issue in a debate last month, opting instead to trade personal jabs with his opponent.
As one reporter noted, Richter holds the “classic Republican position” on health care: opposing the ACA. We can guess that means Richter will be a rubberstamp for Washington Republicans’ reckless agenda to dismantle health care and gut protections for New Jerseyans with pre-existing conditions. Likewise, Richter will support Republicans’ crusade to repeal health care which continues to this day and will side with special interests in raising the costs of prescription drugs.
While Richter is already proving himself to be a threat to New Jersey families, Rep. Kim has built a strong brand as an advocate for access to quality, affordable health care who will always put New Jersey first.
PATH TO VICTORY
New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District is a highly suburban district that stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs to the Jersey Shore. President Obama won the district in both 2008 and 2012.
A strong fundraiser, Rep. Kim has over $3.5 million cash-on-hand and raised over $1 million in the second quarter of the on-year alone. Forced to spend big in a nasty primary with limited fundraising success to begin with, David Richter enters the general with little money — $207,000 — and saddled with over $600,000 in campaign debt already.
Nonpartisan prognosticators at Cook Political Report rate this a Toss Up and with tonight’s result, Rep. Kim’s is in a strong position to win re-election this fall.
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