Q&A with the Sentinel
OCEAN CITY − Lifelong Northfield resident Terri Reese is one of four Democrats challenging U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew for his seat in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District.
Reese had contemplated running for Congress for years, but due to a fluctuating work schedule in retail and caring for a parent with dementia, she did not have time to campaign. When President Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term in January 2025, Reese decided it was time to run.
“I have a working-class background that is rooted in many of the same problems and struggles that my neighbors face every day here in South Jersey,” Reese said.
What is your background?
I am a life-long Atlantic County resident [who] grew up in Northfield and graduated from Mainland Regional High School. Through hard work, loans and grants, I attended the University of Pennsylvania. In my senior year of college, I started my career in retail [as a] full-time manager for Victoria’s Secret.
My career in retail spanned 30 years, working with major brands. In addition to my general manager duties, I served as a district operational auditor, a scheduling and payroll expert and as a new store operating project manager.
During that time, I was raising two children as a single mother, [fighting] for child support and navigating the health care and educational systems to ensure that my daughter, who has significant mental health issues, received the resources she needed.
I left my retail career when my mother was diagnosed with dementia. Due to limitations in our health care system when it comes to caring for our seniors, we had no other choice for her care. During my caregiving years, I worked from home with different tech start-ups.
There have been times in my life when I have been unemployed, on Medicaid and without health insurance. I am also a small business owner, as a private yoga instructor, and a consultant for tech start-ups. Currently, I work for the N.J. Department of Labor in the Division of Wage & Hour Compliance.
What made you decide to run?
I did [reach] out to various organization leaders to see if anyone else was going to run against Van Drew, but I was told that “it was too early” or “no one knows.” I felt compelled to put myself forth so that our community could see that someone was willing to stand up against what was happening and speak out against Jeff Van Drew and the administration’s actions.
What issues are the focus of your campaign?
Purpose: Bring back the purpose of government, which is to protect its people and to make life better for them. [Congress’s purpose] is to provide oversight and accountability into the actions of the executive branch, which this Congress has failed to do.
People: I will fight for a living wage, universal health care, responsible corporate investment that provides full-time work and benefits to the working class, funding and subsidies that ease the financial burden on homeowners and renters with regard to both housing and utility costs, and enact progressive tax reform that benefits the working class and ensures that corporations and the wealthy are paying their fair share of taxes instead of taking advantage of loopholes.
Planet: I will work to reverse the damaging legislation that has loosened regulations put in place to protect our air, water, green spaces and National Parks and Forests; remove the subsidies for the fossil fuel industry and put them towards clean energy initiatives; enact a national moratorium on AI Data Centers that will require robust environmental, health, and community impact studies before the first shovel is put into the ground, plus strict guidelines in [using] AI data.
What issues do you believe will resonate in this conservative district?
Affordability and opportunity, access to quality education and health care, protecting our communities and environment.
How do you balance your campaign with your home life/family/work?
I will admit it is a struggle, since I work outside the home with a 90-minute commute. I plan no more than one event per evening, when possible, and on weekends, no more than four events in a day. I make sure t I balance events between the different counties so I [can] share my ideas and vision with as many people as possible.
I make sure I set aside at least one night per week and several hours on the weekends to spend with friends and family. I recognize that running for [and holding a national] office is a lot of hard work and long hours. And I’m used to it from my years as a single mom, working in retail and as a family caregiver.
The country is politically divided more so than ever. How do you plan to work across the aisle to bring change to South Jersey?
I am working to meet people where they are at community events and not limiting myself to appearances at Democratic Clubs and County Committee events.
Throughout my career, I have built relationships with people from different backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, religious and political beliefs, and have maintained those relationships.
I speak to people first as a fellow human being, find commonality, share ideas of how things can get fixed, and then introduce myself as a candidate. In Congress, I will use the same communication skills that have served me well throughout my career and campaign to work across the aisle, build relationships and enact solutions [to] benefit the working class.
In your past positions, how have you handled difficult decisions?
I have handled difficult situations with honesty, empathy, composure and compassion. It is important to be able to have a conversation without emotion, clearly explain the problem at hand [and its] consequences, and work together to find a solution.
What are the major issues that southern New Jersey residents are facing?
Affordability, health care, immigrants’ rights [and] protecting our environment.
What ideas do you have to address these issues?
Affordability: Have Congress reverse the tariffs and end the Iranian conflict in the Middle East to bring down the prices of gas, groceries, and heating oil. Provide funding/investment [for] affordable housing. Reinstate the Department of Education and provide funding to school districts to help bring down property taxes. Investment and funding in clean energy initiatives to add more power to the grid. Require corporations to pay their fair share of taxes and utility costs instead of providing them subsidies.
Opportunity: Fight for a living wage vs. a minimum wage. Remove subsidies from corporations and businesses whose employees are not paid a living wage, not given 40-hour work weeks and not provided health benefits.
Health care: Open Medicare so that everyone can buy into it, ensure it covers the entire body, including full reproductive care with no limitations, mental health care, and long-term care, and that it is equitable, honoring differences in gender, race, and culture. We must also focus on preventive measures rather than crisis and emergency management.
Immigrants’ Rights: I am for immigration reform that focuses on compassion, dignity and a path to citizenship rather than violence, hatred and prejudice. We can implement administrative immigration [controls] at ports of entry that place people on a legal path to finding work, [protection] from exploitation, and [help to] gain citizenship. We must look at it from a humanist point of view, since immigrants add to and strengthen the fabric of our communities.
Republicans largely outnumber Democrats in the district. If you won the primary, how would you attract those vital independent voters?
Unaffiliated/independent voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans in our district, except in Cape May County. I will attract them with common-sense, realistic ideas that speak to helping everyone.
I feel unaffiliated/independent voters are tired of the intra-party policies/politics as usual. They are looking for someone who is not all about following the party line but standing up for the people.
We need to give voters someone who wants to work to get things done and not be part of the continued dysfunction that we see every day coming out of Washington. I am that person.
Why are you the strongest candidate to take on U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew?
I am unlike any candidate who has gone against Jeff Van Drew in the past. And that is not to say they were not good candidates, only that they were not relatable to the working-class voters in our district.
They want someone who understands their struggles because they have lived them, too. They want someone who is a fighter, who has fought the same battles with health insurance companies, educational administrators and utility companies. They want someone who knows this district because they are from [it], because they have lived here.
I am a true “daughter of the district,” who brings a wealth of shared life experiences with my neighbors, who has been standing outside Jeff Van Drew’s office and at rallies standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other protesters clamoring for change. That is what I bring to the table, and that is why I will beat Jeff Van Drew.
Anything else you’d like to add that I didn’t ask?
My campaign is 100 percent grass roots in donations and volunteers. We raise our money from within the district and spend it within the district. Our campaign is about lifting people up, [and] giving everyone a seat at the table. Party bosses and the political elite have held sway over the decline of South Jersey for far too long. It is time for a Jersey Girl to step in and work to bring us back.
– By RACHEL SHUBIN/For the Sentinel