Herb Conaway

Herbert Clark Hoover Conaway Jr., born on January 30, 1963, is an American politician, physician, and former Air Force officer. Since 2025, he has served as the U.S. representative from New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. Conaway is a member of the Democratic Party.

Before becoming a U.S. representative, Conaway served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1998 to 2025, representing the 7th legislative district. During his time in the Assembly, he held several important positions, including majority whip from 2014 to 2017 and deputy speaker from 2002 to 2005, and again starting in 2022. He won the seat for New Jersey's 3rd district in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election as the Democratic nominee.

Early life

Herb Conaway was born on January 30, 1963, in Trenton. His mother, Eva, was a nurse, and his father, Herb Conaway Sr., taught history at Bordentown Regional High School. Herb grew up in Bordentown and later went to Princeton University, where he studied politics and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.

After that, he went to medical school at Thomas Jefferson University and also studied law at Rutgers School of Law—Newark. He worked as a doctor in the United States Air Force from 1992 to 1996. Today, he works as a doctor specializing in internal medicine in Trenton.

New Jersey General Assembly

Herb Conaway was first elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1997, representing the 7th District. He worked with different colleagues over the years, including Jack Conners, Kenneth William Faulkner, Troy Singleton, and Carol A. Murphy. He served as the Assembly's Deputy Speaker from 2002 to 2005.

Conaway spoke out against a bill that would let parents choose not to vaccinate their children, saying it could spread sickness. Later, he supported rules that made vaccines required for school children, except for medical reasons.

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the current session are:

• Health, Chair
• Budget
• Military and Veterans' Affairs

District 7

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 7th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:

• Senator Troy Singleton (D)
• Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D)
• Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy (D)

U.S. House of Representatives

Conaway ran for the United States House of Representatives for New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the 2004 election but lost to Republican Jim Saxton. He decided to run again in the 2024 election after Andy Kim chose to run for Senate. In December 2023, Conaway won re-election and became the Democratic candidate for the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election, after winning a primary in June against Carol A. Murphy.

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:

• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs (Vice Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus membership

• Congressional Equality Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Labor Caucus
• House Baltic Caucus
• Congressional Freethought Caucus

Electoral history

New Jersey general election, 2015

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Herb Conaway	22,559	30.6	2.6
	Democratic	Troy Singleton	22,056	29.9	2.1
	Republican	Bill Conley	14,272	19.3	3.1
	Republican	Rob Prisco	13,949	18.9	2.9
Total votes			72,836	100.0

New Jersey general election, 2013

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Herb Conaway	34,978	28.0	1.8
	Democratic	Troy Singleton	34,772	27.8	2.2
	Republican	Anthony Ogozalek	27,991	22.4	1.9
	Republican	Jeff Banasz	27,233	21.8	2.1
Total votes			124,974	100.0