Sweeney wins Burlington Democratic convention

Former Senate President Steve Sweeney won the Burlington County Democratic convention this morning, giving him an important victory in his bid to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.

Sweeney won 119 votes (44.6%), beating Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s 69 votes (25.8%), Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-Montclair) 52 votes (19.5%), and New Jersey Education Association Sean Spiller’s 27 votes (10.1%).

Sweeney received a slew of endorsements from Burlington County officials and legislator.  A union ironworker, Sweeney is the only Democrat from South Jersey running for governor.

In his speech to committee members, Sweeney shared an oft-repeated quote from his father: “Steve, you always have to look out for the little guy.” He touted his record as a legislator, including minimum wage and paid leave bills passed during his tenure. Sweeney’s opponents have either led cities or served in Congress. As the only state legislator in the field, he said he’s the only candidate who will know where the lights and bathrooms are in Trenton on day one. 

The former Senate president also criticized President Donald Trump over the Republican’s handling of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. 

“Did you see that disgrace in Washington yesterday? Anybody see that?” he said. “Our Congress, Democrats, need to do something about it.”

The top vote-getter in one round of voting would earn the endorsement, according to convention rules.  That allowed the party to avoid a runoff vote.

Sweeney, a moderate Democrat and key player in the South Jersey Democratic machine, won the endorsement of the same county that gave now-U.S. Senator Andy Kim a 90% victory in 2024. 

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop did not compete in the convention. Fulop is skipping all county conventions.  Gottheimer is celebrating the Bar Mitzvah of his son today and did not participate in conventions in Burlington and Sussex.

The Saturday convention is the first not won by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair). She had previously won endorsements in Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, and Sussex counties.