Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton)’s quest to be the next congresswoman from New Jersey’s 12th congressional district revolves around dominating her home of Mercer County, and she got a huge new wave of endorsements today that should help her reach that goal.
Reynolds-Jackson’s seatmates in the 15th legislative district, State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) and Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli (D-Hopewell Township), are both backing her for Congress. So too is neighboring 14th district Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton), whose support is notable in part because his own running mate, Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy (D-Hamilton), has said she’s interested in running for the seat.
County Sheriff Jack Kemler, County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello – who considered a campaign of her own but decided against it – and four of the county’s seven county commissioners are supporting Reynolds-Jackson, a Mercer County employee, as well; they join County Executive Dan Benson, who endorsed her last week.
Also on the list: Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and every member of the Trenton City Council, where Reynolds-Jackson served before being elected to the Assembly in 2018; every local elected official in Hopewell Township; all but one local elected official in Ewing; and a pair of councilmen from Hopewell Borough and Pennington. (The 12th district’s two other Mercer County towns, Princeton and West Windsor, are missing from the list.)
“I’ve known Verlina since her early days in municipal government, and I have watched her grow into a fierce and principled advocate for her community,” Turner said in a statement. “She has never shied away from a fight when people needed her voice. Verlina leads with compassion, experience, and an unshakable commitment to the families she serves – and she will bring that same strength to Congress.”
Mercer County Democrats will meet on February 26 to award their endorsement for retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing)’s seat, and Reynolds-Jackson is now looking like the substantial favorite to win. That was likely true even before today; while a number of other Mercer residents are running for the seat, Reynolds-Jackson has far deeper political roots in the county than any of them.
And getting home-county support will be critical, given that the district’s three other counties – Middlesex, Somerset, and Union – are more likely than not to award their support to hometown candidates of their own. (Watson Coleman herself first got to office in 2014 by winning a heavily regionalized battle that pitted a Mercer and Union alliance against Middlesex and Somerset.)
Then again, without the county line, getting party support won’t be enough to win on its own, and Reynolds-Jackson got off to a slow fundraising start, raising $70,295 in the first month of her campaign. That leaves more of an opening for candidates outside the traditional party structure – ones less likely to get county party endorsements but more likely to raise big bucks – to make themselves into serious contenders.
Full list of endorsements:
• State Sen. Shirley Turner (LD-15)
• Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli (LD-15)
• Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (LD-15)
• County Sheriff Jack Kemler
• County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello
• County Commissioners Samuel Frisby, Cathleen Lewis, Kristin McLaughlin, and Terrance Stokes
• Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and Councilmembers Jasi Edwards, Crystal Feliciano, Tesky Frisby, Yazminelly Gonzalez, Joe Harrison, Jenna Figueroa Kettenburg, and Jennifer Williams
• Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann and Councilmembers Kevin Baxter, Jennier Keyes-Maloney, David Schroth, and Kathleen Wollert
• Hopewell Township Mayor David Chait and and Councilmembers Kevin Kuchinski, Courtney Peters-Manning, Uma Purandare, and Michael Ruger
• Hopewell Borough Councilman Paul Budd
• Pennington Councilman James Davy
