Herb Conaway

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Herb Conaway was born on January 30, 1963, at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey, to Eva Christine Conaway, a nurse at the hospital, and Herb Conaway Sr., a history teacher at Bordentown Regional High School.

He grew up in Bordentown and graduated from Princeton University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in politics. He then received a Doctor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law-Newark.

From 1992 to 1996 he served in the United States Air Force Medical Corps, reaching the rank of captain, as a general medical officer at McGuire Air Force Base. A specialist in internal medicine, he directs the internal medicine clinic at St. Francis Medical Center and lives in Moorestown.

Career

Conaway was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly from the 7th District in 1997 and served there from 1998 to 2025. In the Assembly he was deputy speaker from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2022, majority whip from 2014 to 2017, and chair of the Health Committee. He first ran for Congress in 2004, losing to Republican incumbent Jim Saxton by about 63 percent to 35 percent.

After Democratic Representative Andy Kim ran for the U.S. Senate in 2024, Conaway defeated fellow assemblymember Carol A. Murphy and three others in the Democratic primary for the 3rd district, then beat Republican Rajesh Mohan with 53.2% of the vote.

He took office on January 3, 2025, and serves on the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, where he is vice ranking member. In July 2026 he and Republican Representative Greg Murphy introduced the Protecting Patients from Automated Denials Act.

2026 race

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is centered on much of Burlington County, with parts of Mercer and Monmouth counties, and Herb Conaway holds it as the Democratic incumbent. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 50,437 votes after Marine veteran Shawn Scott withdrew.

In the general election on November 3, 2026, Conaway faces Republican Michael McGuire, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who won his primary with 57.9%, along with Green Party candidate Steven Welzer.