Bonnie Watson Coleman

U.S. Representative, NJ-12

NJ House · Democratic

Bonnie Marie 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, Watson Coleman is the first African-American woman to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. Watson Coleman was born in Camden, New Jersey. She attended Rutgers University–Camden before receiving a B.A. from Thomas Edison State College in 1985. Watson Coleman began her career in New Jersey state government, working for the New Jersey State Division on Civil Rights and later serving as director of the Office of Civil Rights, Contract Compliance and Affirmative Action in the New Jersey Department of Transportation. She served in the New Jersey General Assembly for the 15th legislative district from 1998 to 2015. Watson Coleman held the position of Assembly majority leader from 2006 to 2010. In 2014, Watson Coleman ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey's 12th congressional district to succeed retiring Representative Rush Holt. She won the Democratic primary and later the general election, becoming the first African-American woman elected to represent a New Jersey district in Congress. In the House, she is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, among other caucuses. She co-founded the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls in 2016, as well as the America 250 Caucus to help plan activities for America's semiquincentennial commemoration in 2026. On November 10, 2025, she announced that she would not run for reelection in 2026.

From the English Wikipedia article “Bonnie Watson Coleman”, available under CC BY-SA.