The Gibbons Government & Regulatory Affairs Group’s 2023 General Election Recap
Many political pundits predicted that the 2023 General Election would mirror the 2021 vote, when Republicans picked up seats in the State Legislature by defeating incumbent legislators. A historical repeat seemed possible since the Legislature was running in new districts under a “consensus” map agreed to by both parties, recent polling data has indicated that President Biden has become less popular in New Jersey, and the issues at the forefront created opportunities for the minority party. The most closely watched legislative districts were Districts 3 and 4 in the southern part of the state, Districts 11 and 16 in the central region, and District 38 in northern New Jersey. It was the Democrats, however, who flipped the script from 2021 and ended up gaining five seats in the State House by holding off challengers and defeating incumbent and favored Republican candidates: In Legislative District 3 (Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland Counties), incumbent Republican Senator Ed Durr lost to former State Assemblyman John Burzichelli. Senator-elect Burzichelli’s running mates for the Assembly, Heather Simmons and Dave Bailey, appear on track to defeat incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick and Thomas Tedesco. These results will flip the Third District from Republican to Democrat. With three open seats in Legislative District 4 (Camden/Gloucester Counties), incumbent Assemblyman Paul Moriarty won an open Senate seat...