Longtime Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announced Monday that she is not running for reelection next year and will retire at the end of her term, saying that it is “time to pass the torch.”
The 80-year-old has served New Jersey’s 12th District since 2015, when she became the first Black woman to represent New Jersey in the House. Prior to her time in Congress, she was a member of the state Assembly, where she served as majority leader. Watson Coleman was also previously chair of the state Democratic Party.
“I made this decision with tremendous thought and reflection, and through many personal conversations with my husband Bill and my family,” Watson Coleman said in a statement. “I am confident it is the right choice for me and my family who have graciously sacrificed by my side when I placed serving our community above all else and I can truly say, I am at peace with my decision.”
Watson Coleman, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, in her retirement announcement touted her efforts to “build an economy for all, reform our criminal justice system, achieve health equity, and eliminate poverty,” and said she “pray[s] our leaders advocate for a two-state solution that paves the way for peace, prosperity, and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.” She called for lawmakers to “continue to stand and fight against those who would target the vulnerable and attempt to harm our democracy.”
Earlier this year, Watson Coleman was one of three Democrats in the New Jersey Democratic delegation — along with Reps. Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver — who participated in a high-profile visit to Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention facility in Newark. Their visit turned into a chaotic scrum involving federal law enforcement. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge that was later dropped, and McIver was later accused of assaulting Homeland Security agents — though her trial, which was set to begin on Monday, has been delayed and she’s pleaded not guilty.
NJ-12 is a safe Democratic seat that covers parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.
Prior to Watson Coleman announcing her retirement, just one other Democratic candidate filed with the Federal Election Commission for the seat: Kyle Little, a fitness studio owner who raised just over $10,000 since getting in the race over the summer.
Other potential Democratic candidates to replace Watson Coleman include state Sen. Andrew Zwicker and Assemblymember Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello, Mercer County Commissioner Sam Frisby and East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, according to a Democratic official granted anonymity to discuss party positioning. Zwicker, who works at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory, is a protege of Watson Coleman’s predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, who hired him at the lab.
“It is my fervent hope that whoever is next elected to serve the people of the 12th Congressional District will be a public servant grounded in strong moral principles and an unabashed advocate in the United States Congress on behalf of those they have the privilege to represent,” Watson Coleman said in her statement. “I hope we will see, in this district and districts across the nation, representatives who, in the words of my dear former colleague and friend, Congressman John Lewis, stand ready to, ‘Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.'”
Matt Friedman contributed to this report.
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