Can a 24-year-old progressive beat one of N.J.'s most powerful Democrats?

Alex Law, a Bernie Sanders supporter, is challenging U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross in next year's Democratic primary.

HADDON TOWNSHIP -- Alex Law doesn't shy away from a challenge.

The 24-year-old progressive Democrat is in the midst of a 100-mile door-knocking challenge throughout Gloucester and Camden counties this week, but he's not spreading the word about a candidate he supports, or on the ballot next month.

The Voorhees native instead has his sights set on the spring, when he plans to take on U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross in a Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District himself.

Clear contrast

Despite the fact Law has been campaigning for nearly a year -- he announced he'd challenge Norcross just hours after Norcross took office last November -- he's still got a big fight ahead of him.

Not only is Norcross the brother of South Jersey Democratic powerbroker George Norcross, but the labor leader came into Congress with hefty campaign coffers, five years of experience in the Statehouse and widespread support in his party. In his freshman year alone, he's secured appointments to multiple House Democratic leadership positions, the House Armed Services Committee and just this week was named Assistant Whip for House Democrats.

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Law, however, has said that Norcross' establishment ties and the "Norcross machine" are exactly why he's running, and why his campaign has gained attention from a range of media outlets so far ahead of the primary.

"I think it'll be a very clear contrast," said Law, who quit his job as a consultant for IBM to run for office full-time. He'll be 25 in March, the minimum age to become a U.S. Representative.

As for Norcross? In a written statement, the 56-year-old congressman said he welcomes the challenge.

"The great thing about our American democracy is that anyone can run for public office and have their voice heard," he said. "I always expect to earn the privilege to serve our community come election time, and I welcome the opportunity to highlight my record of service and results for the people of South Jersey."

Millennials

Sitting in the 200-square-foot office he rents out of the Soha Arts building on the White Horse Pike in Haddon Township, Law easily rattles off facts and figures that buttress his position on the most important issues on his plate.  He opposes the Keystone Pipeline, supports student loan and campaign finance reforms, wants to see marijuana legalized and believes in raising the minimum wage, and he's outlined many of his stances on the issues in a series of videos that range from passionate speeches to explanatory animations.

They're also opinions that resonate among one of the main demographics he's aiming for -- millennials. His campaign team is filled mostly with teens and young adults he's recruited at local high schools and universities who are drawn to Law's message. One of his campaign videos urges millennials to unite behind political causes they believe in. 

"We're trying to make a difference in what's been a dead district when it comes to politics," said 16-year-old Hanny Ramadan, one of the dozen or so interns Law has brought on board over the past year.

Throughout the summer, his team mixed traditional campaign work -- from using data software to plan the best walking routes to hitting the streets to knock on more than 20,000 doors so far -- with a uniquely millennial perspective. At least two of the interns sport Apple watches on their wrists, some document their days on a Law4CInterns Snapchat account and spend time building the Law campaign's social media following.

Law said the response to his campaign so far has been energetic and positive, and while he is aiming to invigorate millennials into getting involved in the political process, he's also found support among older generations. He said he's run into a significant amount of resistance from his own party, but also found support on the other side of the aisle. 

Even though only registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters who declare on election day can vote in the primary, Law said he's met registered Republicans who, with an eye on delivering a blow to Norcross, support him and aim to spread the word about his candidacy. That's one of the reasons he's planned his 100-mile walking week throughout the 1st Congressional District, which covers all of Camden County, as well as 14 municipalities in Gloucester County and two in Burlington County. 

"I want to talk to everybody," he said.

It's best Law isn't only courting one specific generation, however, as experts say the younger age group is far from a reliable voting block.

"If you talk to a group of 100 senior citizen Democrats, about 50 of them have a decent chance to go out and vote, but if you talk to 100 millennials who are Democrats, you're lucky if one of them will go out and vote in the primary," said Patrick Murray, founding director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Path ahead

Law isn't deterred from assumptions his campaign is a longshot. He knows he won't be able to raise anything near the $2 million Norcross amassed during last year's election, but they've been able to draw in enough donations, about $10,000 so far, to fuel their grassroots ground game.

They aim on ramping up fundraising in coming weeks with an eye on drawing in at least $100,000 by crunch time. 

While that's not enough to buy significant amounts of airtime in the Philadelphia market, Law said he knows commercials aren't what wins primaries. Instead, he'll be focusing on targeted digital advertising, literature, canvassers, polling and small media buys.

"I see a path to victory to win this thing with the amount of money we're going to raise," Law said.

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He estimates that with 18,000 voters casting their ballots for Norcross in last year's primary, in contrast with the 9,000 votes his two challengers brought in combined, he would only need to bring in about 20,000 votes to win the election.

Since Law is a staunch supporter of progressive Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, he estimates that a strong showing for Sanders in next year's primary -- which tend to have much higher turnouts in years where there's a presidential race -- could also bring him a boost.

"We feel if he's still in it, which we hope and think he will be, by the New Jersey primary, that'd be really good for us," Law said.

Murray said it's true that a relatively small amount of votes can make or break a candidate in the primary, but that Law is underestimating Norcross' ability to mobilize large amount of voters, like the union groups who have long supported him.

"It doesn't take a lot of numbers in a primary, but the question is, you're going up against a well-financed incumbent who can turn out those numbers at a snap of the finger, how are you going to then produce more numbers to counteract that?" said Murray, adding that the most die-hard Democrats, especially in a strong Democratic district like the 1st, are usually happy with their incumbents.

Murray said he doesn't expect anything out of the ordinary in the district in the least, barring an unexpected scandal.

"This is what quixotic candidates do all the time," said Murray. "They take what they learned in their American Civics course in college and find out at the end of the day it doesn't work."

Law, however, isn't deterred easily.

"If you're trying to do something historic and really interesting, you can't go by the book," said Law, adding later he has another trait he's relying on as they move ahead: "I'm about as competitive a person as you'll meet"