Tuesday is Election Day in New Jersey, with the governor, the entire Legislature and two statewide questions on the ballot, as well as numerous county, local and school board seats. The polls, open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., may be quieter than in a typical year, given that more than 702,000 have voted early, using either a mail-in ballot or in person.
The governor’s race tops the ticket, with incumbent Phil Murphy trying to become the first Democrat in 44 years to win a second term in office. Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former assemblyman from Somerset County, won a tough primary but has been trailing Murphy in the polls ever since. Last week, three polls – from Monmouth, Stockton and Fairleigh Dickinson universities — put Murphy up by nine points among registered or likely voters, depending on the poll. Murphy’s running mate is Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who also serves as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, while former state Sen. Diane Allen is on Ciattarelli’s ticket.
Murphy is running on his progressive record, including a higher minimum wage, police and prison reforms and 100% clean energy by 2050, and says he wants to keep making the state “stronger and fairer.” Ciattarelli says New Jersey is broken, and he has a plan to fix it that includes a number of tax cuts, a new school funding formula that would shift some aid from the cities to the suburbs and no COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates.
Three independents are also running for governor: Madelyn Hoffman of the Green Party; Gregg Mele, a Libertarian; and Joanne Kuniansky of the Socialist Workers Party.
All 120 seats in the Legislature are up for grabs this year, though as a practical matter, gerrymandering has made most seats in the state safe. One two-year term in the Senate — these are usually four-year terms, except in the first election each decade — and two two-year terms in the Assembly are open. There are at least two candidates for every seat in all but four races. No Republicans filed for the Senate and both Assembly seats in the 20th District, based in Elizabeth, and for the Senate seat in the 29th District, representing part of Newark and Belleville.
Battleground districts
Three districts currently have split representation, meaning at least one Democrat and Republican, and these are considered the battlegrounds this year.
In the 2nd District, encompassing Atlantic City and other nearby municipalities, Democratic Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo is trying to move up to the Senate, running against Republican Vincent Polistina, a former assemblyman chosen by a GOP convention to temporarily fill the Senate seat over the summer after fellow Republican Chris Brown resigned to take a job in the Murphy administration but who has not been seated because the Senate has been in recess. Democratic Assemblyman John Armato is running for reelection with Caren Fitzpatrick, an Atlantic County commissioner. The Republican Assembly ticket features Don Guardian, former mayor of Atlantic City, and Claire Swift, a Margate attorney. A recent report from the state Election Law Enforcement Commission called the contests for these seats the second-most expensive in the state this year.
The most expensive races are in the neighboring 8th District, covering parts of Atlantic, Burlington and Camden counties. There, Republican-turned-Democrat Dawn Addiego, the incumbent senator, faces a stiff reelection challenge from Jean Stanfield, a Republican who currently represents the district in the Assembly. With Stanfield seeking the Senate seat and her district mate not seeking reelection, no incumbents are in the Assembly race. That contest pits Republicans Hammonton Councilman Michael Torrissi Jr. and Lumberton Township Administrator Brandon Umba against Democrats Allison Eckel, a marketing specialist from Medford, and Mark Natale, a Marlton attorney who was an unsuccessful candidate two years ago.
In central Jersey’s 16th District, which includes parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties, the Senate seat is open due to the retirement of Republican Christopher “Kip” Bateman. Vying to replace him are Democrat Andrew Zwicker, current assemblyman in the district, and former one-term U.S. Rep. Michael Pappas (R), the township administrator in Bridgewater. Assemblyman Roy Freiman of Hillsborough is seeking reelection with fellow Democrat Sadaf Jaffer, former mayor of Montgomery. The Republican Assembly candidates are Vincent Panico, president of the Hunterdon Central Regional Board of Education and a Readington resident, and Manville Councilman Joseph Lukac III.
Gambling questions on the ballot
This year, voters statewide are being asked to approve two ballot questions related to legal gambling.
The first asks whether the state should expand sports betting to allow people to wager on games involving New Jersey college teams and to bet on college sporting events taking place in New Jersey. Both are currently prohibited under the state’s sports betting law. Supporters say this change would generate tax revenue, but a recent Stockton University Poll said just 37% of those surveyed backed the college betting change, while 51% were opposed.
The second question asks whether nonprofit groups that conduct such games of chance as bingo or raffles should be allowed to use the proceeds to fund their operations. Currently, only veterans and senior citizen organizations can do this, while all other nonprofits must use the proceeds from games for charitable purposes.
Polling places will be open across the state for people to vote in person. Anyone with a mail-in ballot will still be able to vote that way, either by getting it postmarked or placing it in one of hundreds of secure drop boxes around the state by 8 p.m. Tuesday. A person can still get a mail-in ballot up to 3 p.m. today by going to the county clerk’s office and requesting one.
For more details on this year’s elections, including profiles of every district, stories about contested races and issues and links to finding where to vote, go here. Beginning Tuesday night, check NJ Spotlight News for results.
