Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Delran)’s campaign for Congress has overwhelmingly won the Democratic organizational line in Monmouth County, giving him an important early advantage in the race to succeed Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown).
In a vote of Democratic county committeemembers and local elected officials in the 3rd congressional district’s ten Monmouth County towns, Conaway received 76 votes to Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel)’s 13, a margin of 85% to 15%.
Since Kim won the Monmouth Democratic endorsement for the U.S. Senate at the same convention, Conaway is now set to join Kim on the county Democratic line, while Murphy will be off-the-line and may bracket instead with First Lady Tammy Murphy (no relation). That could be a little awkward, given that Carol Murphy has endorsed Kim’s Senate campaign; Conaway has not.
Conaway and Murphy represent the same district in the Assembly, but it’s the 61-year-old Conaway who has by far the longer legislative pedigree. A doctor, lawyer, and Air Force veteran, Conaway was first elected in 1997 and now chairs the influential Assembly Health Committee; this is his second run for Congress, after losing in a landslide in 2004 for an earlier, more Republican version of the same seat.
Going into today’s Monmouth convention, Conaway was viewed as a modest favorite for the county line, thanks in no small part to the endorsement of State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch). Two decades ago, Gopal was a legislative aide in Conaway’s office; now, he’s a hugely influential figure in Monmouth County politics.
But the Monmouth line is only the first step towards winning the Democratic primary in the 3rd district. Only around 12% of the district’s Democratic primary voters live in Monmouth County; 66% live in Burlington County and the rest in Mercer County, both of which may be more winnable terrain for Murphy, who has closer ties to the larger South Jersey Democratic organization.
If elected, either Conaway or Murphy would make South Jersey history: Conaway as the first Black person and Murphy as the first woman to represent the region in Congress.
Two other Democratic candidates, civil rights attorney Joe Cohn and small business owner Sarah Schoengood, are also running, but they did not file to compete for the Monmouth Democrats’ endorsement in time. Another candidate, Kyle Hogeboom, appeared on delegates’ ballots today but withdrew from the convention before the vote.
The Republican field for the 3rd district currently consists of Shirley Maia-Cusick and Gregory Sobocinski, with other potential candidates still looking at the race. But Kim won re-election in 2022 by a 56%-44% margin against a well-funded GOP challenger, so a lot of things would have to go wrong for Democrats to lose the district this year.