Election profile: 19th Legislative District
New Jersey’s 19th Legislative District in eastern Middlesex County encompasses Carteret, Perth Amboy, Sayreville, South Amboy and Woodbridge.
It has been represented predominantly by Democrats in the state Legislature for decades and Democrats dominate the voter rolls, comprising about 44% of those registered. Another 16% are Republicans and most of the rest are unaffiliated.
Sen. Joseph Vitale, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee, is seeking reelection. He faces Republican Maria Garcia of Perth Amboy.
Both Assembly Democratic incumbents are also seeking reelection: Craig Coughlin, an attorney from Woodbridge and the powerful speaker of the Assembly, and Yvonne Lopez, a Perth Amboy woman who formerly worked at Wachovia Bank. They face Republican Assembly candidates Sam Raval, an Iselin man who last year unsuccessfully ran for county commissioner, and Marilyn Colon, a grants coordinator from Avenel. Also in the Assembly race is David Diez, a Libertarian from Perth Amboy.
Editor’s note: All candidates for state legislative seats were contacted multiple times for the NJ Decides 2023 voting guide Q&As. Click on a candidate to see who responded and any answers provided. More information about the project, including the full text of the questions, is available here.
The candidates
SENATE
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
ASSEMBLY
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.