There's a 2027 senate primary going down in LD-15, where incumbent Senator Shirley Turner seeks reelection.

Department of Community Affairs planner and carpenter Simran Singh Riar of Trenton announced his candidacy earlier this fall.

"I’m running for State Senate because we deserve better," he said in a statement. "We deserve better than business-as-usual politics. We deserve more than just ribbon cuttings. We’re fighting for universal healthcare, responsible development, and getting ICE out of New Jersey. Join me in the fight for a stronger, safer, and more affordable New Jersey."

Singh Riar emerges at the heart of a political environment in Mercer County complicated by the congressional candidacy of Dr. Adam Hamawy, who prevailed in this year's CD-12 Democratic Primary to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Hamawy was not the Mercer County Democratic Committee's first choice for the job.

Now, Singh Riar's candidacy is perhaps a sign of things to come as all 120 legislative seats are up next year for the first time without the longtime NJ structure of ballot bracketing.

Matt Smith of NJ Food and Water Watch is counting on that new reality combined with the threat of challengers to pressure the sitting legislative leadership into taking a stronger stand on a progressive agenda ahead of next year's primary election.