Republicans did just fine at the county and local level on Tuesday at the Jersey Shore. For example, in Monmouth County, GOP County Commissioner candidates Erik Anderson and Ross Licitra posted 20,000 vote pluralities.
But the statewide legislative blue wave didn’t spare Monmouth. “Our legislative results are, to put it bluntly, a mixed bag,” Monmouth GOP Chairman Shaun Golden explained in a statement.
The most high profile loss: a Democrat sweep in LD11 led by incumbent state Senator Vin Gopal which took out two Assembly incumbents. Republicans lost five total across the state, and three came from districts taking in at least part of Monmouth County.
“We are cognizant of the strong headwinds we faced going into Election Day. From being outspent in a sizable partisan voter registration disadvantage, the Monmouth Republicans knew of these obstacles up front and worked with the LD11 team of Steve Dnistrian, Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner who tirelessly endeavored to close the gap,” Golden continued.
The most historically stunning defeat, however, came in formerly deep red LD30 where the Lakewood Orthodox Jewish community went 90% for Rabbi Avi Schnall over incumbent Ned Thomson. Golden lamented to loss but ever-so-subtly pointed the finger at neighboring Ocean County where the Republican organization is led by George Gilmore, an avowed anti-Golden antagonist.
“In LD30, Monmouth County proudly turned out Republican voters in Howell and Wall. For that reason, we were able carry and hold on to Republican seats, including Assemblyman Sean Kean and Senator Bob Singer. We look forward to collaborating with our Republican counterparts in better understanding the steep losses this ticket incurred in the Ocean County portion of the district, particularly considering Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli’s outstanding performance in Lakewood just two short years ago,” said Golden.
Indeed, Thomson finished ahead of Schnall 14,252 to 6,121 in the Monmouth portion of the district, but Schnall’s fourth place finish in the county wasn’t anywhere close enough to over Schnall’s monster Lakewood-fueled margin in the Ocean section (21,788 for the Democrat to 3,448 for Thomson). Thomson’s running mate Sean Kean wasn’t far off from the Democrat at 21,436 in Ocean, confirmation that a well-financed effort was afoot to target Thomson.
Meanwhile, Gilmore ally Bill Spadea (another Golden antagonist) panned the NJGOP’s “embarrassing” showing and singled out Monmouth for criticism in an NJ101.5 post. Spadea, Gopal, and Gilmore had reportedly formed a tactical alliance of sorts during the cycle which raised eyebrows in Republican circles.
Spadea and Jack Ciattarelli are the (very) early favorites to compete for the 2025 NJGOP gubernatorial nomination.
Save Jersey reached out to the Gilmore/Spadea faction but they declined to comment for this story.
