SOMERSET - Standing in front of the alter packed with CD-12 Democratic Primary candidates inside the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, the Rev. Pastor Dante Quick took the microphone in front of the crowd this morning and spelled out the issues of importance to his community - and defined the constitutional passion and conscience at the heart of the country.

"ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is a modern-day Klan institution," said

Quick. "I want to hear from candidates about AI displacement and its impact on black and brown communities." At this campaign forum sponsored by the New Brunswick Area Branch of the NAACP, he also wanted to hear about how they intend to correct a tax structure that works against the poor. "The middle class does not exist," the Pastor said bluntly. Between college payments and gas, people are living one paycheck away from getting thrown out of their homes.

After the Rev. Pastor Charles Boyer introduced debate moderator the Reverend Dr. Bernadette Glover, these candidates looking to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) promptly jumped into action. The candidates (above), sitting in alphabetical order from left to right: Matt Adams, Sue Altman, Brad Cohen, Elijah Dixon, Adam Hamawy, Andres Jimenez (Green Party), Kyle Little, Adrian Mapp, Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Shanel Robinson, Squire Servance, Jay Vaingankar, and Sam Wang.

When the Rev. Pastor Boyer invoked the name of Watson Coleman, the crowd rose to its feet to pay tribute to the strong progressive representative who is leaving Congress at the end of the year.  The candidates did their best to prove their own respective bona fides. They all pledged to reject corporate tax money.

"My career as a social worker, I started in housing, making sure people in vulnerable situations had a place to go," said veteran Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson. "Going forward, I would continue to support the housing trust program, supporting our churches... [with] dollars. ... We have to make sure we have a living wage not just a minimum wage."

"Democracy is not for sale - let me say it again," said business owner Servance. "Democracy is not for sale.

"I would change the tax code so corporations would pay more," said Plainfield Mayor Mapp.

"The question was about the wealth gap," said Cohen. "It exists. We know that in this room. The first thing is to recognize that incredible wealth gap. Billionaires have done incredibly well, and that hurts people in communities of color." The Mayor of East Brunswick expressed support for baby bonds championed by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

"We have a representative who has been fighting and representing us," said Somerset Commissioner Director Robinson. "She has championed universal base income. ...What that means is providing those working families to bridge the wealth gap. What we can do is to support those policies."

Said activist (and former State Director for U.S. Senator Andy Kim) Sue Altman, "New Jersey has suffered from centuries of segregation. It was a slave state. We don't talk about that in our schools..." Regarding economic inequality, "We see that in the way we distribute economic wealth. When I get to Congress I will fight like hell to hold accountable those billionaires who are taking every dime of our taxpayer money and using it to line their pockets."

Medical Doctor and military veteran Hamawy: "Dealing with the results of policies from Congress, I see the disadvantages. The wealth gap is the result of structured raciim and policies enacted in this country. I can only imagine what it feels like to be born to a disadvantaged family."

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Adams, taking a crack at a question about how he would respond as a congressman in a national disaster, "I served in the National Guard. I know I would call FEMA, what's left of it, hopefully by this time we would be able to build it back up."

Those are some highlights.

The videos herein show the candidates handling various questions at the forum, where Glover maintained a strong hand to keep the program moving. Vaingankar got a laugh when the moderator mistakenly stopped him short of his allotted time, then gave him five seconds to continue. He had lost his train of thought in answer to the question, so just flashed a smile and said in five seconds, "Vote for Jay Vaingankar." Dixon and Little came up the questions with youth and local energy. A Princeton Professor, Wang received a laugh, too, when someone sneezed a couple of times behind him, and the candidate deadpanned, "I want five seconds back."

The crowd included a strong showing of local citizens, among them Rutgers University

Professor Bill Davis and Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D-17). "Our problem is not that we lack a good candidates, it's that we have too many," said the lawmaker.

Davis agreed.

"There are too many damn candidates in the race," he told InsiderNJ. "The question is how do we find a way to reduce the number of people in here. I don't know what it's going to take. I can't say one stands out at the moment. All the electeds did well. They presented good ideas and the ability to provide leadership to resist things these crazy people are doing. They hit the major issues, including black maternal health, housing, the attack on Iran."

Boyer said he felt heartened by the forum and cited the strong preparation by the contenders. "I felt good that all these candidates did some level of homework on black issues," the Reverend told InsiderNJ. "I may not agree with every one of them but I was impressed. None came empty-handed. In my judgment, this was a testament to why it's important to have these focus forums, to listen for a clear-eyed approach and for different perspectives to determine who's ready for leadership."