Conaway appears likely to run for Congress in NJ-3

Assembly Deputy Speaker Herb Conaway, Jr. (D-Delran) is taking steps to seek the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 3rd district, setting up a possible primary fight between two or more running mates to fill the open seat of Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).

“I’m quietly reaching out to party leadership to let them know my intentions and lay out the groundwork,” Conaway told the New Jersey Globe.  “We are exploring the race and are very likely to move forward, but we want to concentrate on winning re-election to the New Jersey State Assembly.”

Assembly Majority Whip Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel) announced her candidacy this week, and State Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Delran) has also said he would consider running.  The two are on the ballot this year with Conaway as candidates for re-election in a Burlington-based legislative district viewed as safe Democratic.

Conaway said he would decide after the November 7 general election.

Kim is giving up his seat after three terms to challenge incumbent Bob Menendez in the Democratic primary.  A former Obama White House national security staffer, Kim announced his candidacy one day after the Justice Department unsealed a corruption indictment against Menendez.

Conaway, 60, is in his 26th year in the State Assembly.  He served as Majority Whip from 2014 to 2017 and is the chairman of the Assembly Health Committee.  He is a graduate of Princeton University and a U.S. Air Force veteran; he has both medical and law degrees.

This would be Conaway’s second bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He challenged longtime Republican Rep. Jim Saxon (R-Mount Holly) in 2004, but lost by 88,904 votes, 63%-35%.  At the time, Burlington was more Republican, and the district included a large chunk of Ocean County; George W. Bush won the 3rd by two percentage points.  Under the new map, Joe Biden won the district by fourteen points.

If he wins, Conaway would become the first physician to represent New Jersey in Congress since five-term Rep. Oscar Auf der Heide (D-West New York) became a casualty of congressional redistricting and did not seek another term in 1934.

Conaway could also become the first Black congressman from South Jersey and the fourth Black House member in state history.

Other possible candidates include Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello.

On the Republican side, Shirley Maia-Cusick said this week that she would end her U.S. Senate race and run in the 3rd district.   Another political newcomer, Greg Sobocinski, is also running.