Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor leader and longtime figure in New Jersey progressive circles, launched her campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate today, joining a growing field of candidates vying to replace indicted Senator Bob Menendez.

“For the last couple of months, I’ve been speaking to voters across New Jersey, and leaders across the country, who want to see a woman of color with my record of fighting for working families and unions enter this race,” Campos-Medina told the New Jersey Globe. “I have over 25 years of advocacy on behalf of working families, and they want to see someone with a real record of advocating for middle-class jobs and for working families.”

Campos-Medina, who has long worked behind-the-scenes on campaigns but who has never before run for political office herself, emphasized that one of her key priorities is maintaining Hispanic representation in the Senate – something that’s been jeopardized by the federal charges against Menendez, the first and so far only Latino senator from New Jersey. 

“The senator has been a champion for many issues, but he’s no longer an effective representative given the accusations against him,” Campos-Medina said. “He will have the opportunity in the court of law to prove himself innocent… But this is not about him. This race is about the future of New Jersey, and about the future of political representation for Latinos in this state.”

Menendez has not said whether he will try to run for another term this year, but he would be extraordinarily unlikely to win if he does. Instead, the two frontrunners for his Senate seat are First Lady Tammy Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown); progressive activist Larry Hamm is also running, and now Campos-Medina has added her name to the list as well.

Campos-Medina was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. After graduating from Cornell, she quickly became involved with labor unions like UNITE and SEIU, and also held jobs on Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s 2009 re-election bid.

Now a resident of Hunterdon County, Campos-Medina serves in leadership roles in a number of New Jersey progressive groups, including the New Jersey Working Families Party, New Jersey Citizen Action, and Latina Civic PAC.

If elected, Campos-Medina said she would focus on many of the issues that she’s already advocated for in New Jersey: increasing the minimum wage, strengthening unions, building affordable housing, and protecting abortion access. She said that advocating for Black and Latino communities’ interests would also be a top priority; she would be just the second Latina to ever serve in the United States Senate if she were to win.

But Campos-Medina faces a tough path to the Democratic nomination. Democratic leaders in many of New Jersey’s largest counties have already said they’re supporting Murphy, who is likely to have the county organizational line in most of the state; Kim, meanwhile, has a big lead in publicly released polls and a major fundraising headstart.

In order to level the playing field, Campos-Medina said that the county line should be eliminated, a call that’s been echoed by Kim (but, pointedly, not by Murphy).

“We need a fair and open primary,” she said. “New Jersey voters are disgusted by these backroom deals and the party line. The fact that the party bosses endorsed Tammy Murphy so early, trying to dissuade everybody else from running – that hasn’t happened. People are upset, organizations are upset about these backroom deals. And the power of the line is crumbling.” 

The line isn’t likely to go anywhere, though, and Campos-Medina said she’ll fight for county party endorsements wherever possible. Everywhere else, she said she plans to take the fight directly to the voters of New Jersey, with whom the outcome of the June 4 primary ultimately rests.

“I will speak to every Democratic voter and every county committeemember who wants to hear my message,” Campos-Medina said. ““I have been part of many campaigns. I have been a campaign manager, a campaign fundraiser, a field operative… I know how the sausage is made in policy and politics.”