Fulop taps two Assembly candidates in 35th district

In a move that could affect the race for Nellie Pou’s State Senate seat, two Democrats will run for State Assembly in the 35th legislative district on a slate allied with gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop.

Romi Herrera, who lost his Garfield council seat in a November non-partisan municipal election, and Christina Khalil, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate last year, will seek the Democratic nomination for Assembly in the Paterson-based district.

The two Assembly incumbents, Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson) and Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson) are expected to compete at a special election convention to succeed Pou, who takes her seat in Congress today.   Passaic County Democrats will screen candidates tomorrow.

While the winner of the special election will immediately take Pou’s seat, the two could face off in a lineless June Democratic primary, where all voters – not just county committee members – can determine who would finish the remaining 25 months of Pou’s term.

But there’s a gamble involved: running in the special election convention is a free pass, but running in the June primary means walking away from an Assembly seat.  Now, that means the loser of the first Senate race could still face a primary challenge to keep their Assembly seat.

Assuming the new senator is Sumter or Wimberly, there will be a second special election convention to fill the Assembly seat.

Herrera and Khalil bring the total number of Assembly candidates running with Fulop, the three-term mayor of Jersey City, across the state to 36.

“This week, our campaign continues to prove the importance of elevating leaders across the state who are putting New Jersey’s communities first,” said Fulop. “These candidates represent the change we need. Romi and Christina are individuals who have demonstrated their commitment to their communities and view challenges as opportunities to craft real solutions for people in need.”

Herrera lost re-election by 217 votes, finishing sixth in a field of fourteen candidates for five seats.  Khalil received 1% of the vote in her Senate race, running more than 2.1 million votes behind the winner, Democrat Andy Kim.