New Jersey state Rep. Herb Conaway won the contested Democratic primary to replace Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who gave up his safe Democratic seat to vie for the U.S. Senate.
Conaway won the race for New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District with 48.4% of the vote with about 67% of ballots tallied. The Associated Press called the race in Conaway’s favor at 9:22 p.m. Eastern.
“I got into this race because, as a former captain in the Air Force, I took an oath to protect our constitution and rule of law,” Conaway said in a statement. “The same constitution that MAGA extremists want to shred to pieces. In Congress, I will stand up to fight for democracy, the rule of law, and our right to vote.”
Conaway faced a crowded field of Democrats who sought to replace Kim as he steps down from the lower chamber next year, including fellow state Rep. Carol Murphy and civil rights attorney Joe Cohn.
Kim’s seat became up for grabs earlier this year when Kim announced he would instead run for the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). Menendez is not seeking reelection as the Democratic nominee after facing criminal charges.
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Menendez was indicted after alleging he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes “to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt,” according to the charges. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has since announced he would run as an independent, pitting him against Kim in November.
Conaway will go on to face Rajesh Mohan, who won the Republican primary on Tuesday. The race is likely to favor Conaway, as the district is rated D+5 by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
