Possible Retirement: Bonnie Watson Coleman

[Pollster]

It appears that Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (Democrat, NJ-12) has not yet filed for re-election, according to the NJ elections website, with the deadline to file in less than 4 hours.

This could be a mistake, as it looks like no candidates have filed for the seat at all, and the website may be unintentionally excluding the seat from its primary election candidates page. Her 2019 Q4 fundraising certainly makes it look like she's on her way out - it is an expensive district though solidly blue and may not need behemoth fundraising for an incumbent to hold.

If it is not a mistake, certainly possible that she is waiting until the last minute to make an announcement to keep the field clear for a hand-picked successor or party choice.

NJ-12 is solidly blue, considerably diverse, and one of the most college-educated seats in the nation.

[Mr. Matt]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

[Greedo punched first]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

It looks like either she waits until the last minute to get in, or she misses the deadline and Mark Razzoli (R) becomes Joseph Cao 3.0 (Gary Miller (R-CA-31) was Joseph Cao 2.0).

[Roll Roons]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

It looks like either she waits until the last minute to get in, or she misses the deadline and Mark Razzoli (R) becomes Joseph Cao 3.0 (Gary Miller (R-CA-31) was Joseph Cao 2.0).

Funny thing is that this district (albeit a more conservative version of it) was actually held by Republicans until the 90s.

[Greedo punched first]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

It looks like either she waits until the last minute to get in, or she misses the deadline and Mark Razzoli (R) becomes Joseph Cao 3.0 (Gary Miller (R-CA-31) was Joseph Cao 2.0).

Funny thing is that this district (albeit a more conservative version of it) was actually held by Republicans until the 90s.

Another funny thing is that Miller's previous district, the old CA-42, was an oddly shaped district that represented both Hacienda Heights and Mission Viejo.

[Pollster]

It's possible she slept on signature-gathering (requirements are pretty stringent in NJ) and now is unable because of the pandemic, though NJ only requires 200 signatures.

For what it's worth, it also looks like Cory Booker has yet to file as well, though he has publicly announced he is running.

[Greedo punched first]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

It looks like either she waits until the last minute to get in, or she misses the deadline and Mark Razzoli (R) becomes Joseph Cao 3.0 (Gary Miller (R-CA-31) was Joseph Cao 2.0).

Funny thing is that this district (albeit a more conservative version of it) was actually held by Republicans until the 90s.

Did that district have similar, but more Republican boundaries, than the current NJ-12; or was it a completely different district with the same number (numbers were moved around after redistricting)?

[Roll Roons]

Based on the video message played at the Mercer County convention in March (before all the shutdowns), it seems like she's running again. Also note that no Republicans have filed yet as of now either. The only Republican candidate seems to be a former ConservaDem Old Bridge councilman.

It looks like either she waits until the last minute to get in, or she misses the deadline and Mark Razzoli (R) becomes Joseph Cao 3.0 (Gary Miller (R-CA-31) was Joseph Cao 2.0).

Funny thing is that this district (albeit a more conservative version of it) was actually held by Republicans until the 90s.

Did that district have similar, but more Republican boundaries, than the current NJ-12; or was it a completely different district with the same number (numbers were moved around after redistricting)?

The former. The old district was still centered on Princeton and included a lot of Middlesex, but it also had all of Hunterdon and conservative parts of Somerset and Monmouth.

[Pollster]

The deadline has passed, Watson Coleman has filed for re-election.

[brucejoel99]

The deadline has passed, Watson Coleman has filed for re-election.

Booker too?

[S019]

The deadline has passed, Watson Coleman has filed for re-election.

Booker too?

Booker has also filed

https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2020/primary-candidates-us-senate-2020-0330a.pdf