Bonnie Watson Coleman

Bonnie Watson Coleman is a Democratic politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district since 2015. First elected to the House in 2014, she became the first African American woman to represent New Jersey in Congress. Prior to her federal service, Watson Coleman spent 17 years in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the 15th district from 1998 to 2015. During her tenure in the state legislature, she held several high-ranking positions, including Majority Leader and Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. Born in Camden, New Jersey, Watson Coleman attended Rutgers University and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Thomas Edison State College in 1985. Her professional background includes nearly 30 years in New Jersey state government, where she worked for the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Transportation. She began her political career following the legacy of her father, John S. Watson, who was a longtime member of the New Jersey General Assembly. In the House of Representatives, Watson Coleman serves on the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and she is a founding co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls. Her legislative work frequently emphasizes criminal justice reform, economic equity, and mental health advocacy, particularly through her role in the Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health.

Bonnie Watson Coleman maintains a progressive legislative platform focused on social and economic equity. She supports a single-payer healthcare system and has cosponsored the Medicare for All Act, while also advocating for specialized legislation like the Healthy MOM Act to improve maternal health outcomes. On economic policy, she supports raising the federal minimum wage, establishing a federal jobs guarantee, and implementing pilot programs for guaranteed income. Her environmental positions include support for the Inflation Reduction Act and initiatives to transition the U.S. to renewable energy while ensuring environmental justice for marginalized communities. In the realm of criminal justice, she advocates for the elimination of for-profit federal prisons and the expansion of prisoner reentry programs. Regarding foreign policy, she has supported security assistance for Ukraine and diplomatic engagement over military intervention, while calling for greater oversight of defense spending. She also supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and has opposed restrictive border enforcement policies.