The Mercer County Democratic Progressive Caucus has endorsed Andy Kim for U.S. Senate, giving the three-term congressman added momentum heading into the March 11 convention to award the organization line.
“I am thrilled to be able to cast a vote for Andy at the Mercer convention because he has been a great advocate for the issues I am most concerned about,” said Beth Morgan, the MCDPC vice chair. “As a senior citizen, I am concerned about the cost of healthcare – he’s been proactive on such things as capping insulin prices and reining in the cost of life-saving drugs.”
The Mercer convention is unique: any candidate who receives at least 40% of the vote is permitted to run on the organization line; the winner, who must receive 50% +1 of the votes, may use the organization slogan, a less important factor than ballot placement; and the order of those candidates (it can’t be more than two) is determined by a draw conducted by the county clerk. Convention voting is conducted by secret ballot.
The Democratic county chair, East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov, has not endorsed any candidate for the U.S. Senate.
The party organization has an independent streak: last year, they denied party support to five-term Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and replaced him with Dan Benson (D-Hamilton), a younger, more progressive assemblyman. Benson has also not taken sides in the Senate race.
In 2021, the Mercer convention tossed Ann Cannon, a county commissioner for 27 years, and replaced her with Terrance Stokes on the third ballot.
Kim heads into Mercer as the favorite to secure a spot on the Mercer line; the question is whether he will hit the 60% +1 threshold he needs to occupy the line alone blocking Tammy Murphy’ ability to share it with him.
Morgan said that Kim’s position on abolishing the line is one of the things she likes best about him.
“As a progressive, I’ve been concerned for years about the New Jersey ‘county line,’ whereby party elites choose who will get favorable placement on the ballot,” Morgan stated. “Andy has come out against the unfair advantage this confers on certain candidates to the extent that he has even instigated a lawsuit against this practice.”
Kim prevailed with Stackesque numbers on Sunday evening, winning the backing of one of the state’s top local progressive groups, the Princeton Community Democratic Organization, with 91.4% of the vote.
“I’m proud to have been a strong voice for progressive values in the House and look forward to taking that fight to the Senate,” he said.
A former Obama White House staffer, Kim represents five Mercer County towns in the House: East Windsor, Hamilton, Hightstown, Lawrence, and Robbinsville.