“Too many of our leaders have lost their moral compass,” Amy Kennedy said in the video. “Trump and Van Drew are symptoms of a bigger sickness infecting our country and our politics.”
Kennedy announced last month that she was considering a bid, saying Van Drew’s anticipated party change showed that “he is no longer putting the needs of the district first.”
In the announcement, Kennedy also stressed her roots in the district, saying that “for four generations, my family has called South Jersey home.” She and her husband live in Brigantine, N.J., where Patrick Kennedy moved after leaving office.
Amy Kennedy serves as education director of The Kennedy Forum, where she focuses on education and mental health policy.
Her announcement video touches on several issues, including jobs, climate change and mental health.
Kennedy will face at least one other Democratic challenger, Brigid Harrison, a political science professor who announced a run for the sea shortly after Van Drew’s party switch.
