By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Twenty-four days before the New Jersey primary, Chelsea Clinton sat in front of a crowd at the Brownstone Bar & Grill for an intimate discussion about her mother, Hillary Clinton, and why she is the best candidate for the president of the United States.
Hillary Clinton is the front-runner candidate for the Democratic Party against candidate Bernie Sanders, who visited New Jersey last week.
Clinton swung by New Jersey, serving as the host to two grassroots events with Hillary volunteers on May 13 — one at the opening of the Middlesex County Hillary for New Jersey office at the Bridge Street office complex in Metuchen and an organizing event in Bloomfield.
Chelsea Clinton’s mother and father, former President Bill Clinton, also were in New Jersey at different locations this week.
At the last minute, the campaign changed the location of Chelsea Clinton’s visit to the Brownstone due to the influx of people attending the event.
Middlesex County Democratic Organization Chairman Kevin McCabe and Zach Goldfarb, president of the “Rutgers for Hillary” student group at Rutgers University, welcomed the crowd and the former first daughter.
Chelsea Clinton said she believes this is the most important election in her lifetime, noting that this was the first time voting for her mother in New York State as a mother herself to 19-month-old Charlotte.
Touching her belly, Chelsea Clinton said she also welcomed any parenting tips as she and her husband, Marc Mezvinsky, are getting ready to welcome their second child. She said she and her husband do not know the gender of the baby.
Chelsea Clinton talked about how Hillary is the best candidate to break down the barriers holding families back and to raise incomes for New Jersey families, as well as to fight for equal pay among men and women.
“It’s important to elect a president who is able to deliver to the best of [their] abilities, deal with unforeseen events and has dealt with crises before [in keeping] the country safe,” she said.
She spoke of her mother’s role as first lady of Arkansas and first lady of the United States as well as Secretary of State.
Chelsea Clinton said her mother has a proven track record, from her fight for Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and the fight for a health insurance plan in 1993 and 1994, to leading legislation to provide support for how girls and women are treated overseas as well as support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Chelsea Clinton took questions from the audience. A young supporter asked about her own take on her mother not resonating with the younger voters.
Chelsea Clinton said she does not remember a time in her life when her mother was not getting politically attacked, starting as a six-year-old child when her father was running for governor in Arkansas against former Arkansas Gov. Frank White in 1986.
She said she remembers the campaign was more against her mother, depicting her as a terrible mother, always seen arguing court cases as a lawyer and fighting for HIPPY rather than spending time with her family.
“I saw my mom a lot,” she said. “Because I was an only child, even at 6 years old, I believed it was my opinion that only mattered, not Frank White.”
Chelsea Clinton said she believes there have been decades of political attacks that have overshadowed an incredible list of accomplishments.
She told the young supporter, who said he is setting up a voter registration drive, to go back to his friends and tell them that even though some might not think her mother stands with the young people, she has always been standing with them.
Chelsea Clinton spent time advocating the young generation of 18-24-year-olds on both sides of the aisle to register to vote. She said only a small majority of the younger generation has come out to vote, but it is important to increase that number of young folks who come out to the polls.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump opened up his campaign headquarters in Edison Township last week.
The New Jersey primary is June 7.