Democrats maintain control of New Jersey Legislature, pick up five seats in Assembly

New Jersey Democrats maintained 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 onto their 25-15 advantage in the state Senate while picking up five seats in the General Assembly, giving them a 51- 29 edge in the lower chamber, according to the Associated Press.

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 eked out a 3 point victory in the state’s gubernatorial race.

Republican state Sen. Ed Durr, who ousted state Democrat Steve Sweeney in a 2021 upset, was among several GOP incumbents that failed to keep their seats.

Democrat John Burzichelli, the former deputy speaker of the Assembly, flipped Durr’s 3rd District Senate seat in one of the state’s most competitive Senate races, beating the incumbent 53.2% to 46.8%.

In the District 4 Senate race, where Republicans had hoped that the retirement of Democratic state Sen. Fred Madden gave them an in, Democrat Paul Moriarty, the former mayor of Washington Township, prevailed in his contest against Republican Christopher Del Borrello in a 52.9% to 44.1% result.

One of the biggest wins for Democrats came in New Jersey’s District 11 race, the most expensive in the state. 

The entire Democratic slate 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.

Gopal, critical of offshore wind on the campaign trail, was one of the few Democratic lawmakers who voted against a bill earlier this year subsidizing a proposed offshore wind project backed by President Biden and Murphy.

The massive wind farm project was scrapped by Orsted 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 elections, and another 41% called it a minor factor, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll.

“This was a bad deal for ratepayers and it is up to the Attorney General to recover every single tax dollar wasted,” Gopal said in a statement after the Orsted announced it had pulled the plug on the two proposed wind farms.

District 11 also saw two incumbent Republican Assemblywomen, Kim Eulner and Marilyn Pipern, lose to Democratic Assembly candidates Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, who flipped both seats.

About $5.5 million was spent on the three District 11 races – nearly 20% of what was spent on all of New Jersey’s statewide 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 “validation” for their agenda, according to the Associated Press. 

It’s unclear what policy objectives Democrats intend to pursue with their expanded majority. 

“We will continue to stand up for every New Jerseyan, make our state more affordable, and do the hard work of all nine million residents in our state,” Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement after Tuesday’s victories.