The Legislature, which remains on a break until after the elections, recently announced that they would resume their legislative activity on November 27, 2023, in the Senate and November 20, 2023, in the Assembly. As the election season gears up, nearly 20 percent of the Legislature has announced that they will be retiring at the end of their term. The 23 legislators retiring this year include:
Senate: Senators Fred Madden (D-4), Jean Stanfield (R-9), Christopher Connors (R-9), Samuel Thompson (D-12), Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho (R-24), Governor Richard Codey (D-27), Sandra Cunningham (D-31), and Nicholas Sacco (D-32); and
Assembly: Assemblymembers Gabriella Mosquera (D-4), DiAnne Gove (R-9), John Catalano (R-10), Daniel Benson (D-14), Sadaf Jaffer (D-16), Joseph Egan (D-17), Hal Wirths (R-24), Mila Jasey (D-27), Ralph Caputo (D-28), Pedro Mejia (D-32), Angelica Jimenez (D-32), Annette Chapparo (D-33), Thomas Giblin (D-34), DeAnne DeFuccio (R-39), and Kevin Rooney (R-40).
Legislative District 3:
Republican Senator Ed Durr along with Assemblywoman Bethanie McCarthy Patrick, and Hopewell Township Committeeman Tom Tedesco will face off against former Assemblyman John Burzichelli, Gloucester County Commissioner Heather Simmons, and nonprofit leader Dave Bailey.
Legislative District 4:
In the South Jersey district, Democratic Senator Fred Madden will be retiring after 22 years in office and leaving an open seat up for grabs. Assemblyman Paul Moriarty is looking to fill the position and keep the district under Democratic control.
Moriarty faces opposition from former Washington Township Councilman Christopher Del Borrello. In the lower chamber on the assembly side, Dan Hutchinson and Cody Miller will be fending against Republicans Matthew Walker and Amanda Esposito.
Legislative District 11
New district lines after the 2020 census have made the Monmouth County district a race to watch as Senator Vin Gopal and his running mates Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul face a battle against Republicans Stephen Dnistrian who is vying for the Senate seat, and incumbent Assemblywomen Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner.
District 11 is the only district split with a Democrat in the state Senate and Republicans in the Assembly. Gopal, who was up for reelection in 2021, narrowly gained victory by fewer than 3,000 votes and Republicans are taking advantage of the opportunity to claim the upper chamber. Redistricting slightly tipped the scales in favor of Democrats, consequently creating a challenge for Gopal’s Assembly counterparts.
Legislative District 16
Standing in a controversial battle, both sides are entrenched in opposing arguments on right-wing vs. left-wing policies. The Bridgewater Township administrator, Republican Michael Pappas is firing back against Senator Andrew Zwicker in a hotly contested rematch.
Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer is stepping down after one term and will be replaced by Mitchelle Drulis, the previous district for former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski. Drulis and incumbent Assemblyman Roy Frieman joined Zwicker on the ballot, countering Clinton Councilman Ross Traphagen and Grace Zhang, in the Assembly.
