Hometown: Bordentown

Occupation: U.S Congressman and Internal Medicine Physician

Age: 63

Personal and/or professional background: Dr. Conaway began his career serving in the U.S. Air Force as a Captain in the Medical Corps. During his four years of service, he worked as a general medical officer and advanced to assistant director of his primary care clinic. After completing his internal medicine residency, Dr. Conaway practiced in primary care settings before transitioning to academia. He became a clinical professor at an inner-city community hospital, mentoring and teaching the next generation of physicians. Dr. Conaway also served as an Assemblyman in the New Jersey Legislature for 25 years where he served on the Health, Budget and Military and Veterans Affairs Committees. 

What is your top issue? The cost of living and economic security. Too many Americans are working hard and still struggling to afford groceries, housing, energy, health care, and other basic necessities. I believe the federal government should focus on policies that lower costs, increase economic opportunity, and ensure that working families can get ahead.

How would you improve the economy and make the cost of living (groceries, housing, energy, etc.) more affordable? I would focus on policies that directly reduce the costs families face every day while strengthening long-term economic security. That means increasing housing supply and affordability, lowering energy and health care costs, protecting consumers from corporate price increases and anti-competitive practices, and investing in good-paying jobs and infrastructure. The federal government should be focused on making it easier for working people to afford the basics.

What is your plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible? We need to make health care more affordable while ensuring people can access the care they need. One immediate priority is addressing the high cost of prescription drugs. Americans should not have to choose between paying for lifesaving medications and paying their other bills. Congress should strengthen prescription drug price negotiation, increase transparency and accountability across the pharmaceutical supply chain, and crack down on practices that drive up costs for patients.

Do you support the war in Iran and federal defense spending? If not, what would you change? I do not support the United States engaging in a war with Iran without congressional authorization. Decisions to send American service members into sustained hostilities should be made consistent with the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, with Congress exercising its constitutional responsibility over the use of military force. I also believe defense spending should be subject to rigorous oversight to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used effectively and that our national security investments reflect genuine threats and strategic priorities.

What are your thoughts about current immigration enforcement policies and what, if anything, would you do differently? Our immigration system should be secure, orderly, and consistent with our constitutional values and due process. Everyone in the United States is entitled to the protections of the Constitution, and immigration enforcement should be conducted with transparency, accountability, and respect for human dignity. I would support comprehensive immigration reform that strengthens our borders, improves our immigration courts and enforcement systems, protects families and communities, and creates a fair and workable path to legal status and citizenship for those who qualify.

What changes, if any, should Congress or the president make in elections (requiring voter ID, regulating mail-in voting, etc.)? Our priority should be ensuring that every eligible voter can cast a ballot and that every lawful vote is accurately counted. Rather than imposing unnecessary barriers to voting, I would focus on investing in the local election officials and municipalities responsible for administering elections, upgrading election infrastructure, strengthening election security, and ensuring that poll workers have the resources and training they need. Our elections should be secure, accessible, transparent, and administered consistently and professionally.

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Hometown: Freehold NJ

Occupation: Family Law Attorney and Navy Reservist

Age: 47

Personal and/or professional background: I am a Marine veteran, retired NYPD officer, 9/11 first responder, and current Naval Reservist. My life has been defined by a single mission: protecting the innocent and defending the rule of law. Beyond the front lines, I hold an MBA in Accounting and am a practicing attorney. Having prepared thousands of tax returns for local families and small businesses, I have a direct, technical understanding of how government waste and bad tax policy drain our community. I’m running for Congress to bring Marine-strength leadership to the fight for our economy and our safety. I am ready to stand in the gap for the residents of NJ-03 and ensure our government finally puts American families first.

What is your top issue? The top issue facing NJ-03 is the affordability crisis. New Jersey families are being suffocated by the skyrocketing cost of groceries, energy, and housing. This is a direct result of reckless federal spending and policies that have devalued our currency and destroyed the middle-class dream. My top priority is to restore economic sanity through Marine-strength accountability. We must stop the out-of-control spending, unleash American energy dominance to lower utility bills, and deliver real tax relief to the people who earn it. I am committed to fighting the inflation-fueling mandates of the current administration and making NJ-03 a place where families and seniors can actually afford to live and thrive again.

How would you improve the economy and make the cost of living (groceries, housing, energy, etc.) more affordable? We must address the root causes of inflation: government waste and energy dependency. First, I will fight to claw back unspent “slush funds” and audit every federal agency to eliminate the bloat. Second, we must unleash American energy dominance by expanding domestic drilling and nuclear power. This lowers costs at the pump and in our homes, immediately easing the burden on New Jersey commuters. Third, we need to cut the red tape and regulations that stifle small businesses and drive up the cost of housing construction. By restoring a competitive, market-driven economy and ending the high-tax, high-regulation status quo in Washington, we can stop the “Suburban Squeeze” and bring real, lasting relief to every kitchen table in this district.

What is your plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible? Healthcare should be driven by patients and doctors. To lower costs, I support radical price transparency and real market competition. Patients deserve to know the price of a procedure upfront, allowing them to shop for the best value. We must protect the promise of Medicare and Medicaid for our seniors by cutting the administrative waste and fraud that threaten their solvency. I will oppose any government takeover that would destroy private options and lead to rationing. Instead, I support policies that allow for portable health insurance across state lines, lower prescription drug costs through increased competition, and prioritize the doctor-patient relationship over the demands of insurance companies and federal mandates.

Do you support the war in Iran and federal defense spending? If not, what would you change? I believe in “Peace through Strength.” The recent decisive strikes against Iran are about restoring American deterrence and finishing a threat. Iran is the head of the snake, and by applying maximum pressure, we protect our allies like Israel and stabilize the region. Strong leadership prevents conflict by making it clear to our adversaries that aggression has a price. This is about global stability and sending a message to every hostile actor that the era of American weakness is over. On spending, we must modernize for 21st-century threats like China while cutting the administrative bloat at the Pentagon. My mission is Marine-strength accountability: a dominant military that ensures peace through overwhelming readiness.

What are your thoughts about current immigration enforcement policies and what, if anything, would you do differently? The Biden border crisis was a total failure of leadership that endangers our national security to this day. Without a border, we don’t have a country. Illegal immigration depresses wages and strains local resources here in New Jersey. We must enforce the laws on the books and ensure our sovereignty is never compromised. This means putting American citizens and legal residents first, starting with a sealed border and an end to the current chaos.

What changes, if any, should Congress or the president make in elections (requiring voter ID, regulating mail-in voting, etc.)? Restoring trust in our elections is essential. I support common-sense measures to ensure that every legal vote counts and that it is “easy to vote, but hard to cheat.” We must also implement strict, transparent signature verification for all mail-in ballots and ensure voter rolls are regularly cleaned of ineligible or deceased individuals. While election administration is primarily a state responsibility, I will oppose federal takeovers that undermine local control. We need clear, enforceable security standards to protect the integrity of the ballot box and ensure that all New Jerseyans can have absolute confidence in the results of our elections.

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Hometown: East Windsor

Occupation: Retired

Age: 76

Personal and/or professional background: Steven Welzer has been a Green movement activist for over thirty years. He was a founding member of the Green Party of New Jersey in 1997 and he served on the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States in 2012. A lifelong resident of New Jersey, Steve lives in East Windsor with his wife and granddaughters. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Rutgers University, is retired from a State of New Jersey position in Information Technology, currently serves on the editorial board of the New Green Horizons webzine and is actively working to establish an ecovillage in nearby Kimberton, PA. Steve was the Green Party candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 2013.

What is your top issue? We need to foster electoral system reform. The number of Americans who feel that neither establishment party represents them is at a record high, but the Republicans and Democrats systematically concentrate power in the hands of their wealthy donors. They effectively lock out many of us from our place at the decision-making table. If 20% of the voters support the distinctive ideology of the Green Party, then they should be able to have 20% of the representation in the legislature! So we need to revive our democracy with a full spectrum of reforms including: ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and public financing of elections. With more voices and more choices in the system, voters could enjoy full multi-party democracy!

How would you improve the economy and make the cost of living (groceries, housing, energy, etc.) more affordable? To strengthen fair competition and economic democracy, monopolies should be broken up, corporate stock buybacks should be prohibited, and global fair trade agreements should be established to protect workers and communities. And I advocate:
– raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $25 an hour and indexing future increases to inflation;
– supporting the development and growth of worker-owned cooperatives as a model of democratic ownership;
– a renter’s “bill of rights” that protects people and small businesses;
– major public housing investment with a goal to make 60% of the market high-quality, income-based units i.e. social housing;
– empower non-profits like community land trusts to provide housing at affordable rates.

What is your plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible? I advocate a publicly funded “Medicare for All” healthcare insurance program, administered at the state and local levels, with comprehensive lifetime benefits, including:
– dental, vision, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, medication and long-term care coverage;
– cost controls via streamlined administration and bulk purchases of drugs and medical equipment;
– portability of coverage;
– publicly negotiated prices of medications;
– funding of clinics and hospitals in medical deserts.
– establishment of national, state, and local health policy boards consisting of health consumers and providers to oversee and evaluate the performance of the system, ensure access to care, and help determine research priorities.

Do you support the war in Iran and federal defense spending? If not, what would you change?The war in Iran is a tragic mistake, reflective of our country’s prioritization of militarism rather than diplomacy. Such miscalculations are making the United States a pariah nation!
Our defense budget has increased out of all proportion to any military threat. It could be cut in half and still be fully adequate. We should gradually phase out all foreign military bases not specifically functioning under a U.N. resolution to keep peace. Bring home most of our troops stationed abroad!
Also: the U.S. is the largest arms seller and dealer in the world. We should prohibit all arms sales to foreign nations and likewise prohibit grants to belligerent and undemocratic nations unless the money is targeted for domestic, non-military needs.

What are your thoughts about current immigration enforcement policies and what, if anything, would you do differently? I would launch investigations into conditions in detention centers under independent public oversight, strict enforcement of open records laws, and regular reporting on facility conditions:
– replace internal agency reviews with mandatory checks by external public health and human rights bodies;
– require timely public reporting on medical care, mental health services, and safety incidents inside every facility;
– prevent individuals from going missing in the system by maintaining updated, public locational databases accessible to legal teams and families.
Meanwhile, all persons fleeing political, racial, religious, or other types of persecution must be welcomed and granted permanent resident status and a pathway to citizenship.

What changes, if any, should Congress or the president make in elections (requiring voter ID, regulating mail-in voting, etc.)? There’s no evidence of a significant problem re: non-citizens voting and Trump’s proposed SAVE Act is problematic in that it fails to authorize federal funding for the new state responsibilities it would create. But if there’s support for the idea of proof of citizenship in order to be able to register to vote then we should first
implement policies related to getting all citizens to be able to have ready access to such proof.
A Real ID can be easy to keep in possession and display. But because there can be some challenges meeting that kind of requirement, it should be implemented gradually. After that regime of documentation is in place it won’t be burdensome for citizens to produce such when they go to register to vote.

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Hometown: Hightstown

Occupation: Educator and former federal civil servant

Age: 43

Personal and/or professional background: I am an educator, former local elected official, and longtime public servant. I was elected to the Lake Como Borough Council at age 22 and later taught at New Jersey colleges, including Mercer County Community College. For nearly 13 years, I worked at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. I also have more than 20 years of volunteer service with Civil Air Patrol. I am continuing my doctoral studies in higher education and live in Hightstown with my wife, Catherine.

What is your top issue? Affordability. Families feel the economy every time they buy groceries, pay rent or a mortgage, open a utility bill, need childcare, or visit a doctor. I want Congress focused on whether people can actually afford to live in the communities they call home. That means lowering everyday costs, raising wages, expanding affordable housing and healthcare, protecting workers, and making sure taxpayer dollars are spent on programs that improve people’s lives.

How would you improve the economy and make the cost of living (groceries, housing, energy, etc.) more affordable? I would start with a simple question: Are working people actually better off? I support targeted tax relief for working families and small businesses, a living wage, stronger union rights, and paid family leave. We need more affordable housing and stronger oversight of utility costs. We should also enforce laws that protect consumers and promote fair competition. Federal investments in infrastructure and clean energy should create good-paying jobs here at home. Congress should cut waste and focus spending on programs that directly help people.

What is your plan to make healthcare more affordable and accessible? I support universal, single-payer healthcare. Healthcare should be a basic guarantee, not something you lose because you change jobs or cannot afford an insurance plan. Coverage should include doctor visits, emergency care, mental healthcare, prescriptions, reproductive healthcare, maternity care, fertility care, and other medically necessary treatment. We should reduce the role of insurance middlemen and put patients and medical professionals first. Every American should have access to healthcare at least as good as the healthcare members of Congress receive.

Do you support the war in Iran and federal defense spending? If not, what would you change? I do not support the war in Iran. Congress, not the president alone, should decide when our country goes to war. Military force should be used to defend our country and people, not for open-ended conflicts without clear goals or congressional approval. I support a strong national defense and keeping our promises to servicemembers, veterans, and military families. But defense spending needs strong oversight. I would cut waste and unnecessary military spending and invest those savings in needs at home, including healthcare, housing, education, and infrastructure.

What are your thoughts about current immigration enforcement policies and what, if anything, would you do differently? Our immigration system needs stronger oversight and more respect for due process and civil rights. I support abolishing ICE and replacing its current structure with a lawful and humane system that protects public safety while respecting constitutional rights. I would restore strong civil rights oversight at DHS, investigate detention conditions, protect legal asylum, refugee, and TPS programs, and oppose turning local police into federal civil immigration officers. We can enforce our laws while still treating every person with dignity.

What changes, if any, should Congress or the president make in elections (requiring voter ID, regulating mail-in voting, etc.)? Voting should be secure, accessible, and easy to understand. I support early voting and secure vote-by-mail, along with reasonable safeguards such as voter verification, signature checks, ballot tracking, and a fair way for voters to fix legitimate mistakes. Election rules should be based on evidence and applied fairly, not changed to help one political party. I also support stronger campaign finance transparency and reforms to reduce the influence of big money in politics. Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have that vote counted accurately.

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