Bonnie Watson Coleman

Bonnie M. Watson Coleman (born February 6, 1945) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015.

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2015 for the 15th legislative district.

She has pursued criminal justice reform through legislation on banning contracts to private prisons and worked to expand health coverage for pregnant women with the Affordable Care Act.

[3] Watson Coleman was born in Camden, New Jersey on February 6, 1945 and graduated from Ewing High School in 1963.

She began her career in the New Jersey State Division on Civil Rights in Newark as a field representative in the late 1960s.

She then joined the Office of Civil Rights, Contract Compliance and Affirmative Action in the New Jersey Department of Transportation, serving as its first director from 1974 to 1980.

[5][4] In 1994, she joined her father, John S. Watson, a representative in the New Jersey General Assembly for six terms, in establishing a human resources development firm.

[6] Her legislative achievements in the assembly include increasing the minimum wage, the Paid Family Leave Act, creating the Office of the Comptroller, and expanding Urban Enterprise Zones.

[12] She was a member of the joint legislative investigative committee probing the closing of lanes on the George Washington bridge, later known as Bridgegate.

[14] Several other candidates joined the primary, including senator Linda Greenstein, assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, and resident Andrew Zwicker.

[22] Watson Coleman later thanked the secretary of state for referring the candidates to the attorney general's office for investigation.

[23] She easily won the general election against Republican Mark Razzoli, an Old Bridge Township councilman with 65% of the vote.

[21] Watson Coleman won the 2024 Democratic primary against former Princeton school board member Daniel Dart with about 87% of the vote.

[28] She also introduced the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act which would require ID confirmation to purchase ammo on the internet.

[29] On March 3, 2015, Watson Coleman participated with fellow Democrats in a boycott of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress.

[31] In 2017, Watson Coleman introduced the Customer Non-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in “public accommodations.

"[32] That same year, she, alongside Representatives Jerry Nadler and Pramila Jayapal, introduced a resolution to censure President Donald Trump for his remarks at Charlottesville.

Watson Coleman has acknowledged it in the past and sponsored an Assembly bill that became law to prevent employers with more than 15 employees from asking job applicants if they have a criminal history.

Election results for the 15th legislative district by municipality in 2013 , the final campaign that Watson Coleman ran in for Assembly
Giordano/Taylor: 50–60% 60–70%
Gusciora/Watson Coleman: 50–60% 60–70% 80–90%
Watson Coleman speaking in 2017 to the New Jersey National Guard
Coleman speaking at the 2017 Women's March in Trenton, New Jersey