East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen has won the endorsement of the Middlesex County Democrats going away, giving him official party support in the 12th congressional district’s largest county.
Cohen, who went into tonight’s convention as the substantial favorite, got 67% of the vote on the first ballot. Sue Altman came in second place with 11%, and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson got 9%.
Finishing further behind were Adam Hamawy (6%), Squire Servance (2%), former Middlesex Borough Councilman Matt Adams (2%), Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp (1%), Jay Vaingankar (1%), and Sujit Singh (1%). Eight other Democrats running for the nomination to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) – including some serious contenders like Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson – did not compete.
The only other contested race on Middlesex Democrats’ ballot was the 6th district, where Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) defeated repeat challenger John Hsu by a 90%-10% margin. Senator Cory Booker, County Surrogate Claribel Cortes, and County Commissioners Leslie Koppel and Charles Tomaro got the party endorsement uncontested.
Cohen has long been a notable figure in Middlesex politics – the town he leads is among the 12th district’s largest – and he earned endorsements from four of the county’s state legislators prior to tonight’s convention. His quest for party support was aided by the fact that other big names in Middlesex, especially State Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick), opted against running.
So far, every county party endorsement in the 12th has gone as expected: Middlesex for Cohen, Mercer for Reynolds-Jackson, and Union for Mapp. If Somerset Democrats endorse Robinson at their convention next week, which they’re expected to do, it will be a clean sweep for local politicians from each county.
The actual Democratic primary fight, however, is likely to break down on very different lines than the conventions. Several contenders who hail primarily from the world outside elected politics, including Altman, Hamawy, and Vaingankar, have raised plenty of money to compete for the nomination, and in the absence of the county line, party endorsements hold far less import than they once did.
