Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), Burlington County’s hometown congressman for the last five years, unveiled a large set of endorsements from the county today, a little over a week before Burlington Democrats are set to meet for their annual county convention.
Included among Kim’s new endorsers are all five Burlington County Commissioners: Felicia Hopson (D-Willingboro), Dan O’Connell (D-Delran), Allison Eckel (D-Medford Township), Tom Pullion (D-Edgewater Park), and Balvir Singh (D-Burlington Township); the mayors of Evesham, Willingboro, Burlington Township, Lumberton, Florence, Mount Holly, Edgewater Park, Riverton, and Beverly; and a variety of other local Democratic elected officials and organizations.
“As a Burlington County Commissioner, I’ve had a front-row seat to see what a great public servant Congressman Kim is,” O’Connell said in a statement. “From holding town hall meetings across the entire district to addressing issues and matters of concern to our residents, he has been a model of public service. I am proud to support him in his race for U.S. Senate and will be glad to help him in any way to see that happen.”
The county Democratic chairman, Joe Andl, was not included on the list of endorsements – but Kim already has the support of State Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Delran), who is arguably the most powerful person in Burlington Democratic politics.
The wave of endorsements solidifies Kim as the clear favorite to win the Burlington convention next Saturday against First Lady Tammy Murphy and two other candidates. Over the course of his three terms in Congress, Kim has fostered immense loyalty among the rank-and-file Democrats of Burlington County, and it’s hard to imagine him losing a convention there.
But there’s a possibility that a proper convention vote won’t happen at all, if a hypothetical deal currently under consideration comes to fruition. Some Burlington Democrats have proposed putting both Kim and Murphy on the official county party line, thus avoiding a convention fight; a similar deal is in the works in the race for Kim’s open House seat between Assemblymembers Herb Conaway (D-Delran) and Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel).
Even if the line is shared, though, it might not matter much for Kim. He’s a well-known figure by now for Burlington’s Democratic primary voters, and they’ll probably vote for him regardless of where he’s located on their ballots.
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2024 congressional contests.