Burlington County Commissioner Balvir Singh (D-Burlington Township) has launched his campaign to succeed Congressman-elect Herb Conaway (D-Delran) in the State Assembly, making him the first of potentially several candidates to vie for Democratic committeemembers’ support at the January special convention for Conaway’s seat.
Singh isn’t the only Democrat interested in succeeding Conaway; another top contender, Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie, is expected to enter the race shortly. More candidates, among them Willingboro Councilwoman Tiffani Worthy, could also choose to enter the race in the coming weeks or months.
But party leaders in Burlington County are making a concerted effort to instead find a caretaker who would hold the 7th district seat on an interim basis. That would then allow for a June primary election in which all candidates – including Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel), who holds the district’s other seat – would compete on an even playing field.
Singh, a former high school math teacher and current school administrator, was elected to the Burlington Township school board in 2014 and to the Burlington County Board of Commissioners three years later. His 2017 victory made him the first Sikh American to win a countywide election in New Jersey.
“Yes, I am an immigrant, a Sikh by faith, and would represent many firsts if honored to be elected,” Singh wrote in a letter to Democratic county committeemembers in the 7th district promoting his nascent campaign. “But I am more than boxes to be checked – I am driven by the issues that affect us all. From tackling the affordable housing crisis to addressing the achievement gap in education, which impacts students across racial and socioeconomic lines, to pushing for a robust environmental policy in light of climate change, I am ready to work for our shared future.”
Singh joined all of his fellow county commissioners in endorsing Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown)’s Senate campaign earlier this year. Kim’s run for Senate opened the lane for Conaway to run for his 3rd district congressional seat; Conaway’s victory last week over Republican Rajesh Mohan, in turn, opened up his Assembly seat.
Singh, who immigrated with his family from India as a child, also focused in his letter on protecting immigrants in New Jersey, especially under President-elect Donald Trump.
“It is no secret that immigrants like myself may become easy targets by the next President,” Singh wrote. “But let me assure you: this immigrant will not sit idly by. I am ready to fight back against any revoking of citizenship propaganda and any federal orders that run contrary to our Constitution and the core American values we hold dear.”
If Burlington’s Democratic leadership gets its way, though, none of the candidates who are hoping to replace Conaway long-term, including Singh, will be chosen to hold his seat for the next year. They’d rather the seat be filled by a caretaker, with one top potential candidate being outgoing Burlington County Commissioner Daniel O’Connell (D-Delran), who is retiring from his county office at the end of this year.
If chosen, O’Connell could remain in Conaway’s seat through the end of the current term in early 2026, or he could step down earlier and let his prospective successor be appointed to replace him.
A caretaker appointment would mean that the real contest to succeed Conaway would come in June 2025, when all Assembly candidates will compete on office-block ballots following the demise of the county line. The contours of such a race are far from clear; no one knows yet who will be running, whether candidates will choose to team up with one another, whether the Burlington Democrats will make official endorsements in the race, and whether gubernatorial candidates like Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop will try to recruit their own slates for the district.
Also still unclear is how Murphy, who lost to Conaway in this year’s Democratic primary for Kim’s House seat, will figure into the race. Theoretically, the candidates running for Assembly are campaigning for Conaway’s seat, but Murphy will have to make sure her own standing is firm enough to avoid getting unexpectedly locked out.
(There’s precedent for that happening. Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo briefly lost party support last year after two candidates vying for an open seat both finished ahead of him at the Mercer Democratic convention; DeAngelo ended up saving himself with a win at the Middlesex Democratic convention, but it was a more dramatic race than he’d have liked it to be.)
The outcome of a general election in the 7th district, though, is probably not in doubt. The district is deeply Democratic; even as her support collapsed statewide, Vice President Kamala Harris still carried the district by more than 28 percentage points last week.