Herb Conaway
StateNew Jersey
Term startJanuary 3, 2025
PredecessorAndy Kim
State assembly 1New Jersey
District 17th
Term start 1January 13, 1998
Term end 1January 1, 2025
Predecessor 1Diane Allen
Successor 1Balvir Singh
Birth nameHerbert Clark Hoover Conaway Jr.
Birth dateJanuary 30, 1963 (age 63)
Birth placeTrenton, New Jersey, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Education
BranchUnited States Air Force
Service years1992–1996
RankCaptain
WebsiteHouse website
Campaign website

Herbert Clark Hoover Conaway Jr.[1] (born January 30, 1963) is an American politician, physician, and former Air Force officer currently serving as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2025, where he represented the 7th legislative district.

Conaway served in the Assembly as the majority whip from 2014 to 2017, and was the deputy speaker from 2002 to 2005 and again starting in 2022.[2] He won New Jersey's 3rd district in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election, where he ran as the Democratic nominee.

Early life

Conaway was born at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton on January 30, 1963, to Eva Christine Conaway (née Godard), a nurse at the hospital, and Herb Conaway Sr., a history teacher at Bordentown Regional High School.[3][4][5] He grew up in Bordentown, attending high school there. Conaway graduated with an Bachelor of Arts in politics from Princeton University in 1985 after completing a 67-page long senior thesis titled "Black Political Strategy."[6] He then received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and was awarded a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law—Newark.[2] He is the only member of the legislature to hold both an M.D. degree and a J.D. degree.[7]

Conaway served in the United States Air Force Medical Corps from 1992 to 1996, reaching the rank of Captain.[2] He served at McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County as general medical officer and as assistant director of the primary care clinic.[7] He continues to practice medicine whilst serving in the legislature. He specializes in internal medicine and currently serves as director of the internal medicine clinic at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton. He formerly worked at Cooper University Hospital and had a practice in Willingboro.[5] Formerly a resident of Delanco Township, he now lives in Moorestown.[5][7][8]

New Jersey General Assembly

Conaway was first elected to the General Assembly from the 7th District in 1997 as the top vote getter. The same election saw his running mate and second-place finisher, Jack Conners, be seated then removed due to voting machine issues and replaced in September 1998 by Republican Kenneth William Faulkner.[9] Conners was subsequently elected in a 1998 special election and the two served together from the 7th district from that point until 2011 when Conners resigned. Since late 2011, his Assembly associate from the district was Troy Singleton, until Singleton was elected to the New Jersey Senate. Since 2018, his Assembly associate has been Carol A. Murphy. He served as the Assembly's Deputy Speaker from 2002 to 2005.

Calling the proposed bill a "recipe for disaster" that could result in the spread of disease, Conaway opposed legislation proposed by Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk that would give parents the right to exclude their children from mandatory vaccinations, after hearings held in March 2011 by the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee.[10] In 2019, Conaway supported legislation eliminating religious exemptions from mandatory vaccination requirements for students to be eligible to attend school.[11]

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the current session are:[12]

  • Health, Chair
  • Budget
  • Military and Veterans' Affairs

District 7

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[13] The representatives from the 7th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Conaway ran for the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the 2004 election, losing to Republican Jim Saxton[15] Conaway considered another run for the 3rd district in the 2024 election after incumbent Democrat Andy Kim decided to run for Senate, before officially deciding to enter in December 2023 after winning re-election.[16][17] Conaway became the Democratic candidate to succeed Kim in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election after defeating his legislative district-mate, Carol A. Murphy, in a primary in June.[18]

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:[19]

Caucus membership

Electoral history

Assembly

[21]

[22]

[23]

References

  1. ^ "Rep. Herb Conaway - D New Jersey, 3rd - Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Assemblyman Conaway's legislative web page Archived January 24, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., M.D. Bio Page". NJ Assembly Majority Office. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  4. ^ Staff (July 25, 2014). "Rest in Peace: Eva Christine Conaway". Politicker NJ. Archived January 13, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  5. ^ Kitchenman, Andrew (May 20, 2015). "Profile: Assemblyman Brings Physician's Perspective to Healthcare Issues". NJ Spotlight. Archived January 13, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  6. ^ Conaway, Herbert (1985). "Black Political Strategy". Archived June 7, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Herb Conaway, M.D. profile, Denison for State Senate / Conaway & Conners for State Assembly. Accessed August 8, 2007. Archived July 7, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Assembly Member Herbert C. 'Herb' Conaway Jr. Archived October 12, 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 8, 2007.
  9. ^ Staff. "Conners Ordered To Leave Assembly \ A Disputed Election Led To A Ruling That A Republican Must Take His Seat, Setting Stage For Rematch With Ken Faulkner." Archived July 21, 2015 at the Wayback Machine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 3, 1998. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  10. ^ Friedman, Matt. "N.J. Assemblyman rejects parents' plea for more say on kids' vaccinations" Archived March 11, 2011 at the Wayback Machine, The Star-Ledger, March 8, 2011. Accessed March 17, 2011.
  11. ^ Floor Statement - Assembly January 31, 2019 by Herb Conaway Archived December 10, 2019 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed December 11, 2019.
  12. ^ Carol A. Murphy (D) Archived May 20, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2022.
  13. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II Archived February 5, 2023 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Legislative Roster for District 7 Archived January 13, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Mansnerus, Laura. "ON POLITICS; Clueless in New Jersey, Or Refreshingly Out of Touch?", The New York Times, November 7, 2004. Accessed July 23, 2009.
  16. ^ Wildstein, David (October 14, 2023). "Conaway appears likely to run for Congress in NJ-3". Archived October 14, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Wildstein, David (December 7, 2023). "Herb Conaway enters race for Andy Kim's House seat". New Jersey Globe. Archived December 7, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  18. ^ Conaway wins Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District Archived August 28, 2024 at the Wayback Machine, WHYY News, June 4, 2024
  19. ^ Wildstein, David (January 14, 2025). "Conaway gets committee assignments for first term". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  20. ^ "Leadership | New Democrat Coalition". newdemocratcoalition.house.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  21. ^ "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf". New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf". New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  23. ^ "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf". New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.

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