New Jersey Democrats retained control of the state Legislature after Republicans lost gains made two years earlier in statewide election races.
All 120 legislative seats in the Garden State were on the ballot Tuesday and Democrats held their 25-15 advantage 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 the Associated Press.
Republicans have not held a majority in the state Legislature since 2001.
The GOP has made gains in the Garden State in 2021, picking up seven legislative seats the same year Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy cruised to a 3-point victory in the state’s gubernatorial race.
Republican state Sen. Ed Durr, who unseated state Democrat Steve Sweeney in a 2021 upset, was among several GOP incumbents who failed to retain their seats.
Democrat John Burzichelli, a former deputy speaker of the House, flipped Durr’s 3rd District Senate seat in one of the most competitive Senate races in the state, defeating the incumbent 53.2% to 46.8%.
In the District 4 Senate race, where Republicans hope that retiring Democratic state Sen. Fred Madden gave them a chance, Democrat Paul Moriarty, former mayor of Washington Township, won his contest against Republican Christopher Del Borrello in a 52.9% to 44.1% result.
One of the biggest wins for Democrats was in New Jersey’s District 11 race, the state’s most expensive.
All Democratic candidates emerged victorious in the District 11 race, where Democratic state Sen. Vin Gopal survived his contest 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. Senator Gopal
Gopal, who criticized offshore wind on the campaign trail, was one of a handful of Democratic lawmakers who voted against a bill earlier this year subsidizing proposed offshore wind projects supported by Presidents Biden and Murphy.
The massive wind farm project was canceled by Orsted on November 1 despite an estimated $1 billion in tax breaks awarded 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% cited it as a minor factor, according to the Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
“This is a bad deal for ratepayers and it’s up to the Attorney General to recover every tax dollar wasted,” Gopal said in a statement after Orsted announced it had pulled the plug on two proposed wind farms.
District 11 also saw two incumbent Republican Assemblymen, Kim Eulner and Marilyn Pipern, lose to Democratic State Assembly candidates Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, who flipped both seats.
Democrat Margie Donlon flipped one of New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District seats on Tuesday. TOWNSHIP OF OCEAN Luanne Peterpaul, a Democrat, also emerged victorious in her District 11 race. LPAC
About $5.5 million was spent on the three District 11 races – nearly 20% of the amount spent on all New Jersey statewide races combined.
In southern New Jersey’s District 3, where Burr lost the Senate race, Democrats Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey defeated Republican incumbents Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Thomas Tedesco by less than one percentage point.
Murphy called the Democrats’ victory “validation” for their agenda, according to the Associated Press.
It’s unclear what policy objectives Democrats want to achieve with their expanded majority.
“We will continue to support every New Jerseyan, make our state more affordable, and do the hard work of all nine million residents of our state,” State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement after Tuesday’s victory.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
