Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) has convincingly won the Democratic nomination in the 12th congressional district against former Princeton school board member Daniel Dart, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 8:55 p.m., Watson Coleman has 87% of the vote to Dart’s 13%.
Watson Coleman’s Republican opponent, Darius Mayfield, had to get through a primary as well; he leads North Plainfield school board member Thomas Jones Jr. 86%-14%.
Dart, who was elected to his lone school board term in 2018 and who was a registered Republican as recently as 2017, never seemed like he’d be able to pose a serious threat to Watson Coleman. But he did self-fund a decent amount of money to promote his message of moderate politics and generational change (he’s 68, Watson Coleman is 79).
Watson Coleman’s dominant victory, though, is a sign that voters in the 12th district weren’t buying it. Elected in 2014 as the first woman of color to represent New Jersey in Congress, Watson Coleman is generally seen as New Jersey’s most progressive House member, which is hardly a liability in a Democratic primary.
Mayfield, an automobile businessman, is now on his second campaign against Watson Coleman after losing to her 63%-36% in 2022. He’s likely headed towards a similar result this year in a solidly Democratic district that includes diverse urban centers like Trenton and Plainfield.