Freshman Assemblyman Vinnie Kearney is signaling that he is likely to back Union County Commissioner Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded for State Senate next year, offering effusive praise for her potential candidacy while stopping short of a formal endorsement.
Kearney (D-Garwood), who also serves as the Garwood Democratic municipal chairman, said he wants to first go through an endorsement process with his local Democratic organization before casting his vote for a 2027 Senate candidate.
But he left little doubt about how highly he regards Palmieri-Mouded.
“Kim is phenomenal,” Kearney told the New Jersey Globe. “She’s probably one of the best candidates that we could field.”
“I am full-throated complimentary of her and her years of service on the county commission, and she’s just an awesome person,” he said. “She would make a fine senator.”
Palmieri-Mouded is considering a bid against State Sen. Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), who is seeking a third term in the Senate after more than two decades in the legislature.
She could first face Assemblyman Andrew Macurdy (D-Summit), Kearney’s Assembly colleague, in a Democratic primary.
Macurdy and Kearney won the 21st district’s two Assembly seats last year, but did not run a joint campaign despite sharing the Democratic ticket. Macurdy led the four-candidate field with 54,965 votes, followed by Kearney with 53,881.
Kearney said his current plan is to seek a second term in the Assembly, taking himself out of consideration for the Senate seat after being viewed earlier this year as a possible challenger to Bramnick.
“My intention today is to run again for the seat that I have, and if Kim is to be the candidate, she would have my full support,” Kearney said.
Asked if he would be happy running alongside Palmieri-Mouded next year, Kearney was even more enthusiastic.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I would love to have three names on a lawn sign next year.”
Palmieri-Mouded was first elected to the Union County Board of Commissioners, then known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders, in 2018 after defeating incumbent Mohamed Jalloh for the Democratic organization line at the county screening convention.
The emerging contest comes as Democrats increasingly view the 21st district as a prime pickup opportunity.
Kearney and Macurdy ousted Republican Assemblywomen Nancy Muñoz (R-Summit) and Michele Matsikoudis (R-New Providence) last year, winning the two Assembly seats by a combined 54%-46%. Muñoz, a seven-term incumbent, was running for the first time without Bramnick at the top of the legislative ticket.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried the district by 11 points in 2025, four years after Republican Jack Ciattarelli won it by just 296 votes against Gov. Phil Murphy.
Bramnick won his first Senate race in 2021 by six points over then-Roselle Park Mayor Joseph Signorello III and was re-elected in 2023 by seven points over Democrat Matt Marino.
He has said he is “gearing up” for another campaign and has been holding town halls across the district.
The race presents a potentially delicate situation for Senate President Nicholas Scutari, who is also the Union County Democratic chairman. Bramnick has maintained good relationships with Scutari and State Sen. Joseph Cryan (D-Union), but the district’s increasingly Democratic voting patterns have made his seat an obvious target for Senate Democrats seeking to expand their majority.
The 21st is one of four legislative districts represented by a Republican state senator that Sherrill carried last year.
For Kearney, though, the formal endorsement decision will begin at home. As Garwood’s Democratic chairman, he said he intends to give members of his municipal organization a chance to weigh in before he casts Garwood’s vote in the party endorsement process.