Jones not ready to announce state chair bid

Essex County Chairman LeRoy Jones on Wednesday said he was not yet prepared to announce a bid for the state party chairmanship.

“Not at this point, no. Not at this point,” Jones said. “I think at this point we need to kind of see how things continue to shake out, and ultimately, that conversation that I spoke about with those individuals that are stakeholders in this, I think that needs to be part and parcel of that process.”

Last month Jones said he was interested in the position and would mount a bid if support emerges for his candidacy.

Shortly after the New Jersey Globe reported Jones’s interest in the position, Democratic leaders around the state began drawing lines in the sand, and preliminary counts appear to favor Jones over Currie, who has served as state Democratic chairman since 2013.

“There obviously is support around the state, and I’m obviously humbled by that,” Jones said. “We’ll see how it goes and how it continues.”

Currie has the support of Gov. Phil Murphy, but earlier today Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver broke with the governor and said she would back Jones if he ran.