New Jersey legislative elections megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

I expect dismal turnout, as always in off-year New Jersey elections, but even more so with the weather forecast. Weirdly, it's rained three years in a row on election day here.

I have no doubt that the legislature will stay majority Democratic in both chambers, I just really don't want my Councilman, Chris DiPiazza, to win a seat in my Assembly district. I actually went to middle school with him, he was kind of an arrogant prick, if I'm being honest. Back then, he gave me a scar on my lip when he idiotically zipped the sweatshirt I was wearing all the way up to my lip, causing it to gush blood to the point of leaving a scar. I didn't cry or resent him for that. I was mostly just confused about why he did that for seemingly no reason. I mean, who even does that?That's not why I don't want him to win though, it's because he's a Republican, and apparently a very ambitious one. My district is usually solidly Democratic, but in an off-year election with low turnout like this, he or the other Republican he is running with could possibly win. They are already winning the lawn sign campaign.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I expect dismal turnout, as always in off-year New Jersey elections, but even more so with the weather forecast. Weirdly, it's rained three years in a row on election day here.

I have no doubt that the legislature will stay majority Democratic in both chambers, I just really don't want my Councilman, Chris DiPiazza, to win a seat in my Assembly district. I actually went to middle school with him, he was kind of an arrogant prick, if I'm being honest. Back then, he gave me a scar on my lip when he idiotically zipped the sweatshirt I was wearing all the way up to my lip, causing it to gush blood to the point of leaving a scar. I didn't cry or resent him for that. I was mostly just confused about why he did that for seemingly no reason. I mean, who even does that?That's not why I don't want him to win though, it's because he's a Republican, and apparently a very ambitious one. My district is usually solidly Democratic, but in an off-year election with low turnout like this, he or the other Republican he is running with could possibly win. They are already winning the lawn sign campaign.

I see DiPiazza as a future leader in NJ.

Was he really a prick? He has a charismatic look about him.

https://savejersey.com/2019/10/election-2019-new-jersey-assembly-legislative-race-results/

Other than that, I think Bramnick and Munoz both lose, and that does not bode well for Kean Jr. ext year. I think he loses to Malinowski and retires in 2021.

Suburban Westfield/Union County is trending D because of a lot of New Yorkers moving in.

I'm sure he's matured since middle school, he went to private school instead of public high school where I went. But back then he was very in your face and loudmouthed. I haven't actually seen or talked to him since eighth grade, but I can see how he is probably considered charismatic. His middle school persona probably translated into that. I won't deny that he could definitely have a future within the New Jersey GOP. But if he loses today, it might delay that.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I expect dismal turnout, as always in off-year New Jersey elections, but even more so with the weather forecast. Weirdly, it's rained three years in a row on election day here.

I have no doubt that the legislature will stay majority Democratic in both chambers, I just really don't want my Councilman, Chris DiPiazza, to win a seat in my Assembly district. I actually went to middle school with him, he was kind of an arrogant prick, if I'm being honest. Back then, he gave me a scar on my lip when he idiotically zipped the sweatshirt I was wearing all the way up to my lip, causing it to gush blood to the point of leaving a scar. I didn't cry or resent him for that. I was mostly just confused about why he did that for seemingly no reason. I mean, who even does that?That's not why I don't want him to win though, it's because he's a Republican, and apparently a very ambitious one. My district is usually solidly Democratic, but in an off-year election with low turnout like this, he or the other Republican he is running with could possibly win. They are already winning the lawn sign campaign.

My dad always zips my jackets too far up.

That's your dad though, not another student who you are only slightly acquainted with doing so for no damned reason and now, 17 years later will probably represent you in the Assembly.

That's what off-year New Jersey election turnout gets you...it didn't even end up raining. Weirdly, I have more pride in Kentucky tonight than in my fellow New Jersey voters.

[Progressive Pessimist]

So looks like the GOP will pick up at least 4, if not 6, seats and not lose any of their own. Did ANYONE expect anything close to this?

I expected a couple losses for the Democrats, but not anywhere near that many.

EDIT: Swain and Tully just pulled ahead again by a few thousand votes with 94% reporting in my district. This has been a good night after all. I take back how I characterized it for me, personally in my previous post in this thread. Though it is without a doubt at least slightly disappointing for the New Jersey Democratic Party as a whole.

And for those of you who enjoyed my previous schadenfreude, the Republicans still managed to pick up a seat on my town council. So there is still some, albeit more minor disappointment from my partisan ass. I can't find any results for the Freeholder race yet.

[Progressive Pessimist]

WTF happened here? Why did nobody go out?

This always happens in off-year elections in New Jersey, with Democrats especially. This has probably been the New Jersey GOP'S best overall performance since Christie's 2013 landslide re-election. Between then and now, New Jersey Democrats had Christie become a boogeyman for them and fared better. Now, with no presidential or congressional elections, the Republicans had their time again with Murphy now being the one to galvanize them, particularly in south Jersey.

[Progressive Pessimist]

And overall in the state, in the Assembly Dem losses were limited to far South Jersey (beyond even Metro Philly at the southern end of the state). Up in the Philly and North Jersey/NYC burbs, there doesn't seem to have been much Dem erosion at all, at least not enough to change the outcome.

(Regarding "Christie as a boogeyman" from earlier in the thread, as a lifelong New Jerseyan I still have whiplash from how quickly he went from Worse than Satan, to Untouchable God-Emperor, and back to Worse than Satan...)

I'm thankful to have been vindicated about Christie. I always hated him. Just because he didn't spit in Obama's face and managed to not be incompetent when it came to the aftermath of a hurricane never meant that he was a good Governor or even a good person.

I think the issue with Morris County's slow as molasses Somersetization, or tease of it, is that their voters (as with other voters in the state too) seem to be making a distinction between Trenton Republicans and Washington Republicans. They still favor the former while moving away from the latter. I wouldn't completely write off Morris County trending D in national elections, but in statewide elections, especially while Murphy is Governor, it will probably remain the solidly Republican county it always was.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Wasn't Franklin voting Democratic much more often of the rest of Somerset County before the entire county became favorable to Democrats though? There's no doubt that Franklin is the center of that change, but other communities within the county are undeniably moving leftwards too though.