Six days out from the Morris County Democratic convention, the county party’s screening committee has given its highest marks to Rebecca Bennett in the six-way Democratic primary for the 7th congressional district.
The screening committee, which included Morris Democratic Chair Darcy Draeger and six other local Democratic leaders, evaluated the candidates on “vision, readiness to serve in Congress, policy knowledge, campaign strategy, and fundraising, with additional consideration given to Morris-County-specific knowledge, perceived campaign scalability, and commitment to supporting down-ballot Democrats.” Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, had the “strongest overall performance,” the committee determined.
Finishing in second place in the committee’s estimation was physician Tina Shah, followed in order by former Small Business Administration official Michael Roth, climate scientist Megan O’Rourke, businessman Brian Varela, and professor Beth Adubato. Varela is the one candidate of the six who lives in Morris County, and has made the most concerted effort to win the March 22 convention.
The screening committee result, which was accompanied by questionnaires and filmed interviews with each of the candidates, is not an endorsement, and does not guarantee Bennett a victory at the convention on Sunday.
Last December, when the screening committee met to interview 12 candidates for the special election in the 11th congressional district, it gave its “strong recommendation” to four candidates, with the highest score going to Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (D-Montclair).
At the convention a few days later, however, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (who had gotten the third-highest score) easily won the party endorsement against Gill. Malinowski went on to win the Morris County portion of the district in the February 5 special Democratic primary, but narrowly lost the nomination to Analilia Mejia.
