Herb Conaway wins Democratic primary in 3rd congressional district race to replace Andy Kim

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, 61, won the Democratic primary in South Jersey’s 3rd congressional district, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim.

Conaway, of Delran in Burlington County, said he will be the first Black person to represent South Jersey in Congress and the first Black physician to have a vote in Congress. (Physician Donna Marie Christian-Christensen, a Democrat, represented the U.S. Virgin Islands in the House from 1997-2015 as a non-voting delegate.)

After his win Tuesday night, Conaway spoke about supporting his party up the ticket in the general election this fall, and decried “MAGA extremists.”

“This election is the most consequential of our lifetime because the fate of our democracy will be on the ballot this November,” Conaway said Tuesday, after his win. “Women’s reproductive rights will be on the ballot. Protecting our environment and tackling climate change will be on the ballot. Creating jobs and building an economy that works for all of us will be on the ballot.”

Earlier in the day, Conaway talked to voters at Rook Coffee in Monmouth County and celebrated with supporters Tuesday night at 45th Street Pub in Edgewater Park.

Conaway won a five-way open primary with a comfortable margin. He was challenged by his former running mate Carol Murphy, the Assembly’s majority whip, as well as civil rights attorney Joe Cohn, business owner Sarah Schoengood, and teacher Brian Schkeeper. He will face Republican challenger Rajesh Mohan, who is also a physician, in November.

The 3rd Congressional District includes almost all of Burlington County and parts of Mercer County, which lean Democratic, and parts of Republican-leaning Monmouth County. Democrats make up nearly 36% of voters in the district, and Republicans make up a little more than 26%. Unaffiliated voters outnumber both parties at nearly 37%, as of May.

Conaway, the deputy speaker, has served in the Assembly since 1998. He was favored by the Democratic Party committees in all three counties, and raised the most money in the Democratic primary field as of late March, raising nearly $360,000. He also secured support from 314 Action Fund, which works to elect scientists, and VoteVets, which supports veterans running for office – Conaway served in the Air Force Medical Corps for four years.

In an interview with The Inquirer’s editorial board before the election, Conaway said the current Congress is “dysfunctional” and “one of the worst” he’s seen. He believes he can “respond to the challenges” the country is facing.

“My tendency is to turn down the heat and the temperature to get people to think with their heads, but turn down the passion, and try to work toward the broad consensus that most Americans have,” he said.

He said he would be interested in serving on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, because of its health-related legislative efforts, as well as the Armed Services or Veterans Affairs Committees and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Kim, who was elected to the 3rd district seat in 2018, easily won the New Jersey Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and comes to that race with a national profile.