Verlina Reynolds-Jackson endorsed by Mercer County Executive for NJ-12

In the remarkably crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton) earned a new endorsement today that should help her stand out from the pack: Mercer County Executive Dan Benson.

Benson, who was once colleagues with Reynolds-Jackson in the State Assembly and whose county is home to around 30% of the 12th district’s Democratic primary voters, said that Reynolds-Jackson is well-prepared to represent Central Jersey in Congress.

“We do not need to look beyond the borders of Mercer County and the district to find the candidate best prepared to succeed Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman,” Benson said. “In the Assembly, I watched Verlina tackle tough issues like New Jersey’s maternal mortality crisis, expanding paid family leave, and stopping medical debt from destroying people’s credit. She is a proven leader who is ready to serve on day one.”

No fewer than 16 Democrats have entered the race to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), with a few more waiting in the wings. That kind of crowded field means that anyone who can put together a coherent regional base will be in serious contention to win the deep-blue district’s June 2 primary.

That’s exactly what Watson Coleman did in her first race in 2014, when she combined the might of the Mercer County Democratic Party with some allies in Union County to become the state’s first Black congresswoman, defeating two fellow state legislators from Middlesex and Somerset Counties.

Reynolds-Jackson, who represents the same legislative district Watson Coleman once did, will likely be aiming for a similar strategy. An endorsement from Benson, one of Mercer County’s most prominent Democrats and a former leading progressive voice in the state legislature, is a good step towards that goal, especially if it signals more Mercer Democratic support is still to come.

Several other Mercer County residents are also in the race, but only Reynolds-Jackson holds elected office in the county. Benson’s own successor in the legislature, Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy (D-Hamilton), also indicated in December that she planned on imminently joining the race, but she hasn’t said anything publicly since then.

Other contenders have strong connections in their own home counties, among them Somerset County’s Shanel Robinson, a county commissioner; Middlesex County’s Brad Cohen, the mayor of East Brunswick; and Union County’s Adrian Mapp, the mayor of Plainfield. In a primary with no county lines, however, the regional divides that defined the 2014 race may not be as sharp, potentially leaving more room for a candidate outside of the local political world to break through.