Legislature to remain in pro-public education hands
NJEA members celebrated a convincing victory by Mikie Sherrill in the New Jersey governor’s race. After tens of thousands of phone calls made, doors knocked and conversations with friends and neighbors, educators were proud to be part of her defeat of Jack Ciattarelli by a margin of 56.2% to 43.2%.
Sherrill’s historic win makes her the first woman Democrat and second female governor in New Jersey history.
Though some races are still too close to call, organizing efforts by NJEA members helped secure victories for at least 62 of the 67 NJEA PAC-endorsed legislative candidates for the Assembly and one seat in the Senate with the re-election of Senator Benjie Wimberly.
Democrats continue to hold majorities in the Senate and the Assembly, giving Governor-elect Sherrill a pro-public education legislature to work with beginning in January.
At the local level, at least 74% of NJEA members who ran for school board or municipal office were successful.
NJEA President Steve Beatty, Vice President Petal Robertson and Secretary-Treasurer Tina Dare shared this statement about the election victories:
“We congratulate Mikie Sherrill and Dale Caldwell on a hard-fought and successful campaign. By standing up for working families and focusing on what matters to New Jersey, they showed that voters still get the final say. We are so proud of the NJEA members who worked tirelessly to help them achieve this historic win and we look forward to working side-by-side with Gov. Sherrill and her administration to keep New Jersey’s public schools the best in the nation.
“We also congratulate all the endorsed legislative and Board of Education candidates who won their races. We are pleased once again to have pro-public education majorities in the Senate and Assembly and we are excited to work with them to strengthen our profession, support our students, protect our schools and ensure that New Jersey remains a great place to live, work and learn.”
Below is the list of NJEA-endorsed candidates who were elected on Tuesday – with some legislative races too close to call:
LD 2: Assemblyman Donald Guardian (R ) and Maureen Rowan (D)
LD 3: Assemblywoman Heather Simmons (D) and Assemblyman David Bailey, Jr. (D)
LD 4: Assemblyman Cody Miller (D) & Assemblyman Dan Hutchinson (D)
LD 5: Assemblyman William Moen (D) & Assemblyman William Spearman (D)
LD 6: Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D) & Assemblywoman Melinda Kane (D)
LD 7: Assemblywoman Carol Murphy (D) & Assemblyman Balvir Singh (D)
LD 8: Assemblywoman Andrea Katz (D) & Anthony Angelozzi (D)
LD 9: Assemblyman Brian Rumpf (R)
LD 11: Assemblywoman Margie Donlon, M.D. (D) and Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul (D)
LD 12: Assemblyman Robert D. Clifton (R)
LD 13: Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn (R)
LD 14: Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D) & Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy (D)
LD 15: Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson & Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli (D)
LD 16: Assemblywoman Mitchelle Druilis (D) and Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D)
LD 17: Assemblyman Joe Danielsen (D) & Assemblyman Kevin Egan (D)
LD 18: Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley (D) & Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (D)
LD 19: Assemblyman Craigh J. Coughlin (D) & Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D)
LD 20: Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D) & Eduardo Rodriguez (D)
LD 21: Vince Kearny (D)
LD 22: Assemblywoman Linda S. Carter (D) & Assemblyman James J. Kennedy (D)
LD 25: Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R) and Marisa Sweeney (D) for Assembly
LD 27: Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie (D) & Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill (D)
LD 28: Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D) & Chigozie Onyema (D)
LD 30: Assemblyman Alexander ‘Avi’ Schnall (D)
LD 31: Assemblyman William Sampson (D) & Jerry Walker (D)
LD 32: Ravi Bhalla (D) and Katie Brennan (D)
LD 33: Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez (D) & Larry Wainstein (D)
LD 34: Assemblywoman Carmen Morales (D) & Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D)
LD 35: Senator Benjie Wimberly (D), Assemblyman Al Abdel Aziz (D) & Kenyatta Stewart (D)
LD 36: Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D) & Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese (D)
LD 37: Assemblywoman Shama Haider (D) & Assemblywoman Ellen Park (D)
LD 38: Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D) & Assemblyman Chris Tully (D)
LD 40: Assemblyman Al Barlas (R) & Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (R)