With 87 ballots submitted by members, and utilizing ranked choice voting, the local progressive grassroots organization SOMA Action has endorsed Steven Fulop for New Jersey Governor in the upcoming Democratic primary on June 10 (early voting runs June 3-8).
According to SOMA Action, voting was open to “246 voting members, consisting of SOMA Action trustees, committee chairs, project leads, and sustaining members (those who have donated more than $20 in the last year).”
Fulop received the most first place votes (47%) over Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (28%) and U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (15%). After utilizing the ranked choice voting process, Fulop received more than 81% of votes. “Since no candidate met the two-thirds threshold, but ninety percent of voters did want to endorse someone, the candidate with the fewest number of votes was eliminated, and their voters were allowed to vote for their second choice,” explained SOMA Action in a press release. (Read the release in full below.)
The other three Democratic candidates — former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, former NJ State Senator Steve Sweeney and U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer — did not receive any first place votes.
Fulop has named South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum as his choice for lieutenant governor; however, Collum is not on the primary ballot.
“SOMA Action’s process is exactly what democracy in New Jersey should look like, transparent, inclusive, and reflective of true voter support,” said Fulop via a press release (read the full release below). “I’m especially honored by this endorsement because SOMA Action is based in Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s home district, where their members were instrumental in her election. Their commitment to progressive values is unmatched.”
Four of five Maplewood Township Committee members — including Mayor Nancy Adams and Deputy Mayor Malia Herman have endorsed Sherrill for governor. TC member Deborah Engel has endorsed Fulop.
SOMA Action also endorsed Assemblywoman Garnet Hall of Maplewood for re-election as well as Newark West Ward Democratic Committee Co-Chair Chigozie Onyema for NJ Assembly District 28.
“Giving voters a meaningful say in elections is a critical part of rebuilding our democracy,” said Allison Posner, Co-President of SOMA Action. “New Jersey has a bad habit of picking ‘elected’ officials behind closed doors and teaching them that they don’t need to bother to engage with their voters. Here at SOMA Action, we’re doing our part to push back. We gave our members sole power to decide the endorsement, and the way to win was to get out and talk to them.”
The Maplewood Democratic Committee has not endorsed candidates for governor or assembly but did endorse Jane Collins-Colding for Maplewood Township Committee. Max Kravitz, who is also running for TC in the Democratic primary, did not seek the MDC’s endorsement. The two TC candidates answered questions at a forum hosted by the Hilton Neighborhood Association on May 15.
Press release from SOMA Action:
SOMA Action is proud to announce the results of our second year of using Ranked Choice Voting to endorse in the Democratic Primary.
To decide the endorsement, voters were asked to rank their first, second, third, etc. choices for each race, including an option to not endorse. The SOMA Action threshold for endorsement is a two-thirds supermajority.
Only three Gubernatorial candidates received first place votes: Fulop (47%), Baraka (28%), and Sherrill (15%). Ten percent voted for no endorsement. Since no candidate met the two-thirds threshold, but ninety percent of voters did want to endorse someone, the candidate with the fewest number of votes was eliminated, and their voters were allowed to vote for their second choice. This repeated until 81.6% of voters chose to endorse Fulop over having no endorsement. (A video of the counting process is here).
“Giving voters a meaningful say in elections is a critical part of rebuilding our democracy,” said Allison Posner, Co-President of SOMA Action. “New Jersey has a bad habit of picking ‘elected’ officials behind closed doors and teaching them that they don’t need to bother to engage with their voters. Here at SOMA Action, we’re doing our part to push back. We gave our members sole power to decide the endorsement, and the way to win was to get out and talk to them.”
“We believe in practicing what we preach,” added Erika Malinoski, SOMA Action’s other Co-President. “As an advocate for Ranked Choice Voting, this endorsement was also our chance to test RCV in a highly competitive, six-way election. I’m happy to report that it went very well. Instead of the progressive vote being split such that everyone’s last choice (no endorsement) won, we were able to come to agreement on options that have solid support from the overwhelming majority of the people who voted.”
“Ranked Choice Voting also works for endorsing multiple candidates like in the State Assembly race,” added Malinoski. “We basically just run the process twice. The first time works the same as what we described above. Then the second time we start by redistributing the votes of the candidate who has already won so that their voters can express a preference for their second choice.” (A video of that counting process is here).
For Assembly, Hall received 44% of first place votes, Onyema 39%, Tucker 3%, and No Endorsement 14%. After voter’s subsequent preferences were taken into account, Hall won over “no endorsement” with 75.3% of the vote and Onyema won over “no endorsement” with 72.7%.
“SOMA Action will be 100% behind whoever wins the primary,” added Posner. “Competitive races are good for government accountability and voter engagement, and they don’t have to be divisive. We encourage everyone to get informed and get involved.”
Voting was open to 246 voting members, consisting of SOMA Action trustees, committee chairs, project leads, and sustaining members (those who have donated more than $20 in the last year). Eighty-seven people chose to participate in the vote for Governor and 77 for State Assembly.
Additional information on the primary is available at the SOMA Action Voter Guide.
Press release from the Fulop for Governor Campaign:
JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Fulop for Governor campaign is proud to announce the endorsement of SOMA Action, a prominent progressive grassroots organization based in Essex County. Using a Ranked Choice Voting system and a two-thirds threshold requirement, SOMA Action members ultimately gave Steven Fulop 81.6% of the vote after all rounds were tallied.
“SOMA Action’s process is exactly what democracy in New Jersey should look like, transparent, inclusive, and reflective of true voter support,” said Jersey City Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Steven Fulop. “I’m especially honored by this endorsement because SOMA Action is based in Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s home district, where their members were instrumental in her election. Their commitment to progressive values is unmatched.”
Of the six gubernatorial candidates considered, only Fulop (47%), Ras Baraka (28%), and Mikie Sherrill (15%) received first-choice votes, while 10% of voters selected “no endorsement.” Because no candidate reached the required two-thirds threshold initially, but 90% of members wanted the group to endorse, a ranked-choice runoff was triggered. After successive rounds, Fulop emerged as the consensus choice with 81.6% support.
“Giving voters a meaningful say in elections is a critical part of rebuilding our democracy,” said Allison Posner, Co-President of SOMA Action. “New Jersey has a bad habit of picking ‘elected’ officials behind closed doors and teaching them that they don’t need to bother to engage with their voters.”
The Fulop campaign credits its growing grassroots momentum to Mayor Fulop’s clear and actionable policy agenda, and his record as a results-driven executive, not a politician who speaks in platitudes.
“Steve just wrapped up his 120th Meet & Greet, and what we’re hearing from voters is clear: they’re ready to move on from the old party-boss politics,” said Lisa Mandelblatt, Senior Advisor for Community Engagement. “No one in this race has been more direct with voters about what they’ve accomplished and what they plan to do, even when it’s not the easy or popular answer. Steve’s authenticity is resonating, and that’s why we now have 2,000 energized volunteers on the ground, ready to deliver the change New Jersey deserves.”
