so while pundits battle it out in terms of messaging and attacks voters here in New Jersey are still reacting to the change at the top of the democratic ticket and as you can imagine those reactions are mixed senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan spoke to several voters in district 7 which has become a major swing District in the state to get a sense of the mood on the street I I think he did a very Noble thing folks in Westfield and Scotch Plains reacted to President Biden's speech with a mixture of admiration and dis Xavier Bloom applauded the 11-minute Oval Office address including Biden's rationale for exiting the race and endorsing kamla Harris nothing nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy that includes personal ambition so I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torture I think it's really going to revitalize uh the younger base and um I think his choice is probably going to bring a lot of Voters uh to their Camp I think it was a pretty e easy decision for him um there was a lot of like people saying you know he couldn't do interviews because of his physical ability there could be arguments still made regarding whether or not he's fit to serve Eagleton Ashley coning says Biden's stepping down frees him from the rigors of campaigning I think he wanted to show himself especially given all of the rumors is he critically ill did something got for a bid worse happen I think he wanted to show that he is you know alive and well but some folks complain the president's sometimes stumbling speech didn't really answer their nagging questions about Biden's mental and physical fitness I think it was good I think he could have given a little bit more of an explanation yeah yeah it was quick and going use the word robotic I feel I don't think he should have been there in the first place why I don't think he's was equipped for the job conservative Tamila Bean said she found little if anything to praise about the speech or camela Harris the Puppeteer changes the Marinette doll but it's still the Puppeteer does that make sense it doesn't matter really who's in the office it's going to be the same westfields in congressional district 7 and cd7 swings politically we mean recently redistricted to lean a little more red it elected a republican to Congress in 2022 after choosing Democrat Joe Biden for president in 2020 as for moving Harris to the top of this November's ticket well I think she should be the successor after Biden she does have a lot of experience it's hard to um to to support either one of them so it's really irrelevant who she picked or who he picked New Jersey hasn't voted for a Republican president since George HW Bush in 1988 but it is a little more purple than blue lately and whoever tops the ticket does have an impact down ballot we've seen a ground swell of support coming especially from black women uh from other voters of color uh from Women Voters in general for kamla Harris and you hear it across the board someone who can prosecute the case against uh Donald Trump somebody who is a fierce advocate for abortion and women's rights CD 111's Mikey Cheryl was the first among New Jersey Congressional Democrats to endorse Harris she says voters will demand a President Who eases inflation and improves Transit and that Biden did the right thing I think she is going to be a great Champion for New Jersey not just for affordability not just for abortion but for who we are as Americans and for opportunity across this nation so I'm thrilled Harris has about three weeks to go before Democrats convene in Chicago I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News [Music]