New Jersey Democrats maintained control of the state legislature after Republicans lost gains made two years earlier in state elections.
All 120 legislative seats in the Garden State were on the ballot Tuesday and Democrats maintained their 25-15 lead in the state Senate while picking up five seats in the General Assembly, giving them a 51-29 advantage in the lower house, according to La Prensa Asociada.
Republicans have not held a majority in the state legislature since 2001.
The GOP had made gains in the Garden State in 2021, picking up seven legislative seats the same year Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy notched a 3-point victory in the state’s gubernatorial race.
Republican state Sen. Ed Durr, who unseated state Democrat Steve Sweeney in an upset in 2021, was one of several Republican incumbents who failed to retain their seats.
Democrat John Burzichelli, former Assembly Speaker, defeated Durr for the 3rd District Senate seat in one of the state’s most competitive Senate races, leading the incumbent 53.2% to 46.8%. .
In the District 4 Senate race, where Republicans hoped the retirement of Democratic state Sen. Fred Madden would give them a chance, Democrat Paul Moriarty, former mayor of Washington Township, prevailed in his race against Republican Christopher Del Borrello with 52.9%. to 44.1% result.
One of the Democrats’ biggest victories came in the race for New Jersey’s 11th District, the most expensive in the state.
The entire Democratic ticket emerged victorious in the race for District 11, where Democratic state Sen. Vin Gopal survived his race against Republican Stephen Dnistrian, maintaining his status as the last Jersey Shore Democrat in the state legislature.
State Sen. Vin Gopal, who defeated Republican Stephen Dnistrian on Tuesday, is the last Jersey Shore Democrat in the state legislature.
Gopal, a critic of offshore wind during the election campaign, was one of the few Democratic lawmakers to vote against a bill earlier this year that subsidized a proposed offshore wind project backed by President Biden and Murphy .
Orsted scrapped the massive wind farm project on Nov. 1 despite the estimated $1 billion tax break granted to the Danish company by the state legislature in July.
Twenty-seven percent of Garden State voters said offshore wind was a major factor heading into Tuesday’s election, and another 41% rated it as a minor factor, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
“This was a bad deal for taxpayers and it is up to the Attorney General to recover every wasted tax dollar,” Gopal said in a statement after Orsted announced he had canceled the two proposed wind farms.
Also in District 11, two incumbent Republican Assemblywomen, Kim Eulner and Marilyn Pipern, lost to Democratic Assembly candidates Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, who flipped both seats.
Democrat Margie Donlon won one of New Jersey’s 11th District Assembly seats on Tuesday. OCEAN TOWNSHIP Luanne Peterpaul, a Democrat, also emerged victorious in her race for District 11. LPAC
About $5.5 million was spent in the three District 11 races, nearly 20% of what was spent in all New Jersey state races combined.
In southern New Jersey’s District 3, where Burr was defeated in the Senate race, Democrats Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey unseated Republican incumbents Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Thomas Tedesco by less than a percentage point.
Murphy called the Democratic victories a “validation” of his agenda, according to the Associated Press.
It is unclear what political goals the Democrats intend to pursue with their expanded majority.
“We will continue to stand up for all New Jerseyans, make our state more affordable, and do the hard work of our state’s nine million residents,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement after the Tuesday’s victories.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn