Growing up in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Cammie Croft watched her mother raise her and her three siblings often by herself on waitress tips, public housing and food stamps. This precarious balance was made possible, Croft says, by the very social programs that are now under threat in Washington D.C. Food stamps meant there was dinner on the table and Medicaid covered her family’s doctor visits.
Today, Croft, a mother of three and a former member of the Obama Administration, has her eyes on New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. Croft is a progressive among a crowded field of 11 Democrats in the primary race for Governor Mikie Sherill’s vacant seat in the House of Representatives. She argues that her lived experiences and years of political organizing and shaping policies behind the scenes, makes her the strongest candidate for the role.
Croft credits her mother not only for her hard work in keeping the family afloat, but for also shaping her political and civic responsibilities. Each day, her mother encouraged Croft and her siblings to do good deeds.
“My mom, she had this incredible way of just creating abundance and being generous, even in times of extreme scarcity,” she says, “which is a beautiful quality of hers.”
In a recent interview with The Village Green, Croft discussed her political journey and her politics.
During the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Croft helped lead a voter registration drive as well as organized forums that brought different political voices to campus – an experience that further shaped her future.
“I started thinking about the causes important to me and how to continue that organizing, ” said Croft. “And so I started working on environmental issues.”
Toward the end of her sophomore year of college, Croft was taking mostly political science and communications classes. Her honors thesis analyzed how ideas turn into political action.
That work continued through her roles with PIRG, an anti-war coalition and the Sierra Club, where she focused on organizing and grassroots.
Croft’s platform centers on affordability, anti-corruption, climate policy and immigration reform, areas where she feels deeply connected.
In a previous job leading a clean energy organization, Croft said, she played a role in advancing the Inflation Reduction Act. Croft’s proposals include free solar battery technology for households, funded in part by rolling back a fraction of billionaire tax cuts and requiring data centers to pay higher taxes.
Some of Croft’s key goals are to use clean energy to lower utility bills, create jobs and reduce emissions.
“We need to block the resources that they are using to do that, to terrorize our communities and inflict violence in harm,” said Croft. “Policy wise, we need to make legal immigration clear and much [easier] to navigate for folks who are here.”
Croft is running on a resume that is shaped largely outside the spotlight. As part of President Obama’s White House staff, she was involved in major Democratic victories, such as passing The Affordable Care Act.
During the Obama Administration and his campaign, Croft also worked on voter engagement and digital strategy.. In this role, Croft helped counter the spread of disinformation, including attacks on Obama’s citizenship and expanding outreach through the use of technology.
Croft’s role as mom and person who can complete the job is big part of her campaign: “The fighter who gets it done. Because if you want something done, give it to a busy mom” is the slogan on a her website.
Croft supporter Leah Goodman of Bloomfield, New Jersey relates to that as well as where Croft stands on issues.
“As a mom, I’m supporting Cammie because I’ve seen firsthand how deeply she cares about families like mine,” said Goodman. “As a parent navigating additional support needs for my child, I know how important it is to have leaders who truly listen without judgment, and Cammie consistently shows up in hard moments with compassion and a real desire to understand what families are going through.”
Goodman continued, “She helped pass the Affordable Care Act, worked to advance bipartisan immigration reform, and led a nonprofit focused on tackling climate change and lowering energy costs for families. At a time when so many people are tired of the status quo, Cammie represents the authentic leadership our community deserves.”
As a resident of Montclair, Croft says she is quite familiar with South Orange and Maplewood. noting that Jackie & Sons is one of her favorite restaurants. She and her family frequently spend time in the two towns, visiting Magnus Comics in Maplewood Village with her children and stopping for coffee, ice cream or pizza in either town.
“We’ll get our coffee at Village Coffee, and then we will go see if they have Pokemon cards. We really like the Village Trattoria for pizza and SOMA Sweets,” said Croft.
Croft said her decision to run came from the frustration in seeing the inaction of Congress on rising costs, climate threats and housing insecurity.
As Croft campaigns, knocking door-to-door, she hopes her progressive policies, coupled with her track record for getting things done, will make the difference in the election.
From her website: “One day, my kids will ask me what I did in this moment, and I need to be able to show them that I stood up to bullies — that I’m running for Congress to fight back and to fix the broken status quo that made Trump’s politics of pain possible.”