ITL Special Edition: 2023 NJ General Election Recap

ITL Special Edition: 2023 NJ General Election Recap 

Facing political headwinds and what appeared to be a motivated Republican base, New Jersey Democrats in the state legislature not only managed to hold onto their state legislative majorities but they expanded them by flipping 5 Assembly seats. 

Beginning next legislative session, the Senate will have 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans – the same as the current breakdown – while the Assembly will have 51 Democrats and 29 Republicans.

Leading up to Tuesday, New Jersey Democrats put a massive effort behind the state’s vote-by-mail process. As of Election Day, 406,812 vote-by-mail ballots were returned – roughly 70% of those cast in the 2022 federal election year. Democrats benefited from a huge advantage in vote-by-mail as Democratic voters accounted for 65% of all mail-in ballots prior to Election Day as compared to 21% coming from registered Republicans. 

New Jersey’s nearly million-voter Democratic registration advantage and a huge lead in fundraising also helped party legislative candidates prevail. Democrats won in virtually every competitive district Republicans needed to have a chance at regaining control in either chamber. That included Democrats reclaiming the Senate seat won by Republican Ed Durr in a national upset in 2021, when he defeated then-Senate President Steve Sweeney. Democratic Senator Vin Gopal also won an impressive re-election victory in District 11, considered one of the most competitive in the state. 

Overall, there are a lot of winners on the Democratic side on Tuesday. At the top of the list is Senate President Nick Scutari (D-Linden) and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge), who were heavily involved in legislative races this year, particularly in the 11th, 16th, and 38th districts – all of which Democrats won convincingly.

State Legislature 

Here are the election results in New Jersey’s most notable legislative districts:

District 1 

State Sen. Mike Testa (R-Vineland) and his running mates, Assemblymen Antwan McClellan (R-Ocean City) and Erik Simonsen (R-Lower), have won re-election in the 1st legislative district.

Testa defeated Democrat Charles Laspata by a 20% margin, while McClellan and Simonsen have a combined 58% of the vote against Democrats Damita White-Morris and Eddie Bonner. South Jersey Democrats invested substantial sums in flipping several nearby legislative districts from Republicans but did not invest heavily in the 1st district. 

District 2

Republicans have retained control of the 2nd legislative district in Atlantic County, with State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township), Assemblywoman Claire Swift (R-Margate), and Assemblyman Don Guardian (R-Atlantic City) defeating a trio of well-funded Democratic challengers. 

Polistina defeated Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick (D-Linwood) by a margin of 53%-43%. Guardian and Swift have 29% and 28% of the vote, respectively, putting them ahead of marine scientist Lisa Bender’s 22% and kindergarten teacher Alphonso Harrell’s 21%.

District 3

Former Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) returns to the state legislature in District 3, this time as a state senator after defeating Senator Ed “the Trucker” Durr (R-Logan), who unseated Senate President Steve Sweeney in 2021.

Burzichelli’s two running mates, Gloucester County Commissioner Heather Simmons (D-Glassboro) and Salem County nonprofit leader Dave Bailey, have also won their races. 

The results are a significant show of force from the South Jersey Democratic organization, which was in dire shape two years ago but has come roaring back in Tuesday’s election.

District 4

Democrats have retained control of the highly competitive 4th legislative district with Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Washington) winning a seat in the Senate and Monroe school board member Cody Miller and Gloucester Township Councilman Dan Hutchison prevailing in the race for two Assembly seats.

Longtime State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington) chose to retire this year, and he was joined by Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera (D-Gloucester Township). That allowed South Jersey Democrats to create an entirely new ticket with Moriarty, who has been in the Assembly for close to two decades, at its head.

Moriarty defeated former Washington Township Councilman Chris Del Borrello while Miller and Hutchison collected a combined 52% of the vote against middle school teacher Amanda Esposito and former Buena Councilman Matt Walker.

District 8

Republicans in Burlington County’s 8th legislative district have prevailed once again by a narrow margin. 

Former Burlington County Freeholder Latham Tiver (R-Southampton) defeated former Pemberton Township Councilwoman Gaye Burton 52%-48% – a closer-than-expected result for Tiver, who was predicted to win relatively easily.

Tiver ran alongside two incumbent assemblymen, Michael Torrissi (R-Hammonton) and Brandon Umba (R-Medford). Their race is slightly closer; Torrissi received 26% of the vote with Umba garnering 25% on their way to victory against Chesterfield Democratic municipal chair Andrea Katz’s 24% and Hammonton Education Association president Anthony Angelozzi’s 24%.

District 11

In the most expensive legislative election in New Jersey’s history, and one of the most contentious, Democratic State Senator Vin Gopal won a third term in Monmouth County’s 11th District, soundly defeating Republican businessman Steve Dnistrian. 

Gopal’s running mates, Margie Donlon, an Ocean Township Councilwoman and Luanne Peterpaul, an attorney, also won – defeating incumbent Assemblymembers Kim Eulner and Marilyn Piperno. 

District 14 

​​Democrats pulled off a clean sweep victory in the 14th legislative district, a Central Jersey district at the edge of the competitive playing field. State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) have been re-elected, while former state Labor Department official Tennille McCoy has won her first term in the Assembly.

Greenstein defeated her Republican challenger, retired nurse Patricia Johnson, by a resounding 62%-38% margin. DeAngelo led the way with 31% of the vote, slightly trailed by McCoy with 30%; attorney Adam Elias and former appointed Hightstown Councilwoman Skye Gilmartin each tallied 19% of the vote.

District 16

The 16th district has remained in Democratic control as State Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick) and Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Hillsborough) both won re-election and Mitchelle Drulis claimed her first term in the Assembly. Republicans mounted a serious effort to take back the district they controlled only a few years ago, but fell short once again.

Zwicker defeated former U.S. Rep. Michael Pappas (R-Branchburg) by a hefty 55%-43% margin. For the district’s two Assembly seats, Freiman and Drulis notched 28% and 27% of the vote, respectively, ahead of Princeton accountant Grace Zhang and Clinton Councilman Ross Traphagen, who have 23% and 22%.

District 30 

The Lakewood-based 30th district is usually solidly Republican, but Orthodox Jewish leaders in Lakewood decided this year that they wanted to elect a member of the majority Democratic caucus – and they did so handily, with Rabbi Avi Schnall defeating Assemblyman Ned Thomson (R-Wall) 31%-20%.

Schnall’s victory is a massive win for Lakewood’s Orthodox Jewish community, which mounted a coordinated effort to elect Schnall to advocate for Lakewood’s interests as a member of the Assembly Democratic majority. State Sen. Bob Singer (R-Lakewood) and Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-Wall), were both supported by Orthodox leadership and won easily.

District 38

State Senator Joe Lagana (D-Paramus), Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn), and Assemblyman Chris Tully (D-Bergenfield) have won re-election, holding the 38th district for Democrats after a serious Republican campaign to unseat them.

Lagana brushed back a challenge from Paramus businesswoman Micheline Attieh with 52% - 48% of the vote. Assemblywoman Swain and Assemblyman Tully defeated challengers Barry Wilkes and Gail Horton by a margin of less than 800 votes each.

County Government 

Here are some of the election results from New Jersey’s most notable county-wide elections:

Cumberland County

Republicans picked up three county commissioner seats in Cumberland County, giving them a 7-0 majority and continued control of county government for at least two more years.

Democratic Commissioner John Capizola and his running mates, educator LaRae Hilda Smith and dentist Joeigh Perella, each received around 14% of the vote. That put them well behind Republicans James Sauro, Sandra Taylor, and Arthur Marchand, who garnered about 19% of the vote each.

Six-term Democratic Sheriff Robert Austino has also lost re-election; Republican challenger Michael Donato defeated Austino 55%-45%

And in the race for surrogate, Democrat Nicasio Acevedo has lost against Republican Rudolph “Skip” Luisi, 57%-43%.

Atlantic County 

Atlantic County Republicans pulled off a clean sweep of county offices, winning every seat up this year – including two currently held by Democrats.

Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, a Republican, has won re-election to an unprecedented seventh term. He defeated Democrat Joyce Pratt 63%-37%; Pratt was the replacement Democratic candidate after the party’s initial nominee, Peggy Capone, died in August.

In the closely-watched race for sheriff, two-term incumbent Eric Scheffler has lost a rematch with Egg Harbor Township Committeeman Joe “Tokyo” O’Donoghue, 55%-45%. 

Republicans also picked up one county commissioner seat, with Linwood Councilwoman June Byrnes capturing the seat vacated by incumbent Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick (D-Linwood) to run for the State Senate. That brings the GOP majority to 8-1, with Ernest Coursey as the lone Democrat.

Gloucester County

Gloucester Democrats have successfully defended their 5-2 majority on the County Board of Commissioners against a divided Gloucester County Republican Party, dealing another blow to local GOP organization that won two seats in 2021 but then lost a bid to take control last year.

Incumbent Commissioner Jim Jefferson (D-Woodbury), Pitman Committeeman Matt Weng, and Washington Township Mayor Joann Gattinelli defeated Republicans Adam Wingate, Heather Flaim, and James Philbin. Jefferson and Gattinelli have 17.7% of the vote and Weng has 17.2%; Wingate, Flaim, and Phiblin have 16.0%, 15.7%, and 15.6%, respectively.

Gloucester County Surrogate Joe Chila has also won, defeating Republican Sam Maccarone. Chila, 54%-46%.

Burlington County

Burlington County Democrats prevailed on Tuesday by holding onto three countywide offices by solid margins.

Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican Deborah Buzby-Cope 58%-42%

Democrats also retained two county commissioner seats, with incumbents Balvir Singh and Tom Pullion beating Republicans Alfonso Gambone and Larry Vernamonti. Pullion and Singh garnered 29% and 28% of the vote, respectively, to Gambone’s 22% and Vernamonti’s 21%.

Schwartz, a former freeholder, ousted incumbent Tim Tyler in 2018. Buzby-Cope is the mayor of Bass River.

Somerset County

Democrats held on to their 5-0 majority on the Somerset County Board of Commissioners, with incumbents Paul Drake and Doug Singleterry defending their seats against Republicans Don Lemma and Daniel Gallic in a fairly tight race.

Singleterry tallied 39,140 votes and Drake secured 38,954 votes compared to Lemma’s 35,017 and Gallic’s 34,705 votes. 

Drake and Singleterry were both first elected in 2020; Drake had previously served on Hillsborough’s Township Committee and the Somerset County Parks Commission, while Singleterry had been a councilman in North Plainfield.