Uncommitted N.J. delegate at the DNC is pushing for peace in Gaza

What questions do you have about the 2024 elections? What major issues do you want candidates to address? Let us know.

The New Jersey delegation at the Democratic National Convention has already thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. But there are a few Garden State Democrats who are showing up as uncommitted at the convention.

Their message to the Harris-Walz team: ceasefire in Gaza.

Hudson County, New Jersey resident Laura Keating is a first-time delegate. She said she decided to become a delegate because she is disillusioned with the civilian death toll in the war in Gaza and wanted to do something about it. Her platform was simple.

“On the ballot it read justice for Palestine, permanent ceasefire now,” she said.

Keating, whose only previous political experience was working for a change in the school board in Hoboken, is one of two uncommitted delegates representing the Garden State in Chicago this week.

“The goal of uncommitted is to keep Gaza on the table, don’t let anyone forget, I have hope I can see democracy really work,” she said.

The 64-year-old said she knows it is a once in a lifetime experience to attend a convention but said she is a bit anxious.

“I don’t know how this works and I suspect I’m going to be disillusioned, the deeper I go in politics the more disillusioned I get, but then there’s hope,” she said.

Like Keating, Azra Baig, a Central Jersey resident, had aspirations of being a delegate this election season. But, instead, she is attending the DNC as a first-time page.

“Usually, a page is someone that is like a staff support for the party,” she said. “But they said I don’t need to do that, but that I could support Uncommitted New Jersey and Uncommitted National in whatever capacity I wanted.”

Baig tried to become an uncommitted delegate in the 10th district, which encompasses Middlesex and Mercer counties, but fell short of getting the necessary votes. She said going to the convention in whatever capacity is exciting and a bit nerve-wracking, but it’s a chance to represent the people in her community.

“We are advocating for peace, justice and to stop the massacre of the people of Palestine,” she said.