Will Cunningham is accusing rival Amy Kennedy of double-dealing in her bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd district, saying that she is trying to play the role of progressive reformer while taking money from Washington lobbyists.
A former top investigator for the House Committee Oversight and Reform, Cunningham thinks that Kennedy’s endorsement from End Citizens United contradicts her acceptance of more than $28,000 in campaign contributions from federal lobbyists whose money the campaign finance reform group wants to stop.
“Amy Kennedy has been trying to play both sides of this election, and this is just another example of her lying and cheating to get what she wants,” said Cunningham. “If Amy Kennedy had not paraded a facade of progressivism, they would have found that she is antithetical to their mission to remove the influence of lobbyists from political campaigns.”
According to Cunningham, Kennedy has leveraged her family contacts – she is the wife of former seven-term Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) – to get the end Citizens United endorsement.
The vice president of the organization, Scott Faye, had previously served on the staff of Kennedy’s father-in-law, the late U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts).
Cunningham alleges that Kennedy is trying to sell herself as a grassroots reformer, but has raised just $26,000 from contributors in the 2nd district.
He thinks it’s all smoke and mirrors.
“It is clear Amy Kennedy’s decision to give her campaign a quarter of a million dollars is an investment in her family’s plans to potentially milk this seat for their own self gains. Being wealthy should not be a prerequisite to run for Congress,” said Cunningham, who spent part of his childhood growing up homeless in South Jersey. “It is time CD-2 had a representative that reflects the electorate and knows the needs of the community.”
Kennedy’s campaign manager, Joshua Roesch, says that “Personal attacks against other Democrats aren’t going to help win this seat back from Jeff Van Drew and they aren’t going to help people in need in our community.”
“Amy has taken the No Corporate PAC money pledge and was endorsed by End Citizens United because they believe she is the progressive candidate in this race that will fight for election reform. Amy was also the first to release a reform plan that builds on the For the People Act, which will end the culture of corruption in Washington,” Roesch. “Instead of hurling personal attacks against her opponents, Amy is acting like the true progressive that she is and concentrating on running a positive campaign, helping people during this pandemic, and fighting for the people of South Jersey.”