The five candidates running in the Democratic primary for the open 12th District Congress seat failed to received an endorsement by the Princeton Community Democratic Organization at the club’s meeting last night.
A candidate must receive 60 percent of the vote to receive the endorsement of the club. No candidate met that threshold.
Princeton Democrats are divided about the candidates. Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes held a fundraiser for Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman this weekend. Earlier last week, Ross Wishnick, vice chairman of the board of directors for Bank of Princeton, held a fundraiser for state Senator Linda Greenstein.
Coleman received 37 votes last night. Greenstein came in second with 26 votes. Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula received 9 votes. Andrew Zwicker, a Kingston residents who works at the Princeton Plasma Physic Lab, received 12 votes. Hopewell Township resident and chemist Frank Gibson received 2 votes.
In a runoff between Coleman and Greenstein, Coleman received 54 percent of the vote and Greenstein received 45 percent of the vote of members present. A few members did not vote for either candidate in the runoff.
Democratic sources say tensions are high within the party about the endorsements for the seat that is being vacated by Rush Holt. In Mercer County there is a lot of pressure to support Coleman. Hamilton Democrats met last week and wanted to write a letter in support of Greenstein, who is their state senator. They said they were being pressured by Mercer County Democratic leaders to not get involved.
Does Chivukula live in the 12th now? He ran against Lance in the 7th in 2012. Did he move? Or did the district get redrawn recently?
Shouldn’t 54% be enough for an endorsement?