By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
TRENTON — State Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-15, won a relatively easy victory in the Democratic Party primary Tuesday for the 12th Congressional District nomination.
"I believe that Congress and our Legislature can always benefit from having someone that sees the issues and the needs and opportunities through the lens of both women and the minorities," she said during her victory speech at the Lafayette Yard Hotel and Conference Center in Trenton. "We have a big step to climb over, but we have time."
Ms. Coleman defeated fellow Democrats state Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-14, Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, D-17, and Princeton University physicist Andrew Zwicker.
She won 42 percent of the 35,916 votes cast with 15,413, according to the unofficial results from the four counties of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Union.
Ms. Greenstein came in second with 10,031 votes, Mr. Chivukula came in third with 7,824 votes and Mr. Zwicker garnered 2,648 votes in his first campaign.
As expected, Ms. Coleman won Mercer County by a large margin, taking 63 percent of the 17,007 votes cast in that county as did Ms. Greenstein in Middlesex County, taking 60 percent of the 10,704 votes cast.
Mr. Chivukula won his home district of Somerset County with 68 percent of the 4,294 votes tallied.
The wild card in the race, however, was Union County that went to Ms. Coleman by a 2-1 margin, or about 2,400 votes ahead of Ms. Greenstein, according to the unofficial results.
Ms. Coleman took 2,995 of the 3,932 vote total to seal her victory.
Ms. Coleman will now face Piscataway Republican Dr. Alieta Eck in November’s general election to replace Mr. Holt.
The field of four Democrats took shape very quickly after Mr. Holt announced his retirement earlier this year after serving eight terms in Congress.
Since the beginning, the race was thought to be a dead heat between Ms. Coleman and Ms. Greenstein with Mr. Chivukula and Mr. Zwicker as long shots.
For Ms. Greenstein of Plainsboro, it was the first campaign loss in her career going back almost 20 years.
"The rest of my life I’m going to figure out what I’m going to do and continue to be your senator, hopefully," Ms. Greenstein said to around 100 supporters at a union hall in North Brunswick. "I will continue my life with or without Congress, but I would have sure liked to go."
Ms. Greenstein said she called Ms. Coleman to congratulate her and to pledge her assistance in the general election.
Mr. Chivukula conceded his race at his campaign headquarters in Franklin Township while Mr. Zwicker held a gathering for around 50 people in the backyard of his South Brunswick home.
Mr. Zwicker said he enjoyed the campaign and may run again for another elective office.
"This is just the beginning," he told those gathered around him Tuesday night.
With two women on the ticket for November, it is likely to be the first woman from New Jersey sent to Congress since Marge Roukema left office in 2003 after serving 22 years.
If Ms. Coleman wins, it would be the first African-American female from the state to hold the office.
The 12th Congressional District is composed of East Windsor, Ewing, Hightstown, Hopewell, Lawrence, Pennington, Princeton, Trenton and West Windsor in Mercer County, Cranbury, Dunellen, East Brunswick, Helmetta, Jamesburg, Middlesex, Milltown, Monroe, North Brunswick, Old Bridge, Plainsboro, South Brunswick, South River and Spotswood in Middlesex County, Bound Brook, Franklin, Manville and South Bound Brook in Somerset County, and Fanwood, Plainfield and Scotch Plains in Union County.
