Mercer County Clerk won’t run to succeed Bonnie Watson Coleman

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello won’t run to succeed Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) in Congress, removing one potentially formidable name from the still-shifting Democratic primary for the 12th congressional district.

Sollami Covello had expressed interest in the safely Democratic seat shortly after Watson Coleman announced her retirement and spent the last two months deliberating on a campaign, but ultimately said she’d prefer to continue as county clerk, to which she was re-elected to a new five-year term last November.

“I have more to do in New Jersey to best serve the public moving forward, especially to defend democracy at the State and local levels, while safeguarding personal privacy and property rights,” Sollami Covello said in a statement. “I’m excited to continue in this role, especially now as these rights are being threatened on a national level, and to defend any erosion of our voting rights or privacy rights in policy and practice.”

This isn’t the first time Sollami Covello has weighed a congressional run but decided against it. In 2024, when now-Senator Andy Kim departed his 3rd district seat to run for governor, Sollami Covello considered a campaign for several months before bowing out; the seat was eventually won by now-Rep. Herb Conaway (D-Delran).

Sollami Covello’s hometown would have given her a decent base from which to launch a campaign for either seat: she lives in the Trenton suburb of Lawrence, which was previously in the 12th district but moved into the 3rd district during the most recent redistricting cycle, and Mercer County makes up a substantial portion of both districts.

Even without Sollami Covello, the 12th district field has no shortage of Mercer County candidates, among them Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton), former Energy Department official Jay Vaingankar, and potentially Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy (D-Hamilton), who has filed to run but hasn’t officially launched a campaign.

Also in the race are Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson (D-Franklin), East Windsor Mayor Brad Cohen, Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, Millstone Mayor Raymond Heck, entrepreneur Elijah Dixon, housing policy researcher Iziah Thompson, community activist Mike Anderson, former West Windsor mayoral candidate Sujit Singh, and fitness studio owner Kyle Little.

In her statement announcing her decision, Sollami Covello also indicated that she may look to endorse one of the other Democrats running for the seat.

“It is encouraging to see the number of candidates that have stepped forward to win the Democratic nomination … and succeed Bonnie, with some outstanding candidates from my own Mercer County!” she said. “I look forward to speaking with each of these candidates to determine whether their priorities for Congress align with my own principles, so I can determine who I believe is the best choice to succeed Bonnie Watson Coleman in Congress.”