38th district stays Democratic; Lagana, Swain, Tully beat back GOP challengers

State Sen. Joe Lagana (D-Paramus), Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn), and Assemblyman Chris Tully (D-Bergenfield) have won re-election, holding the 38th district for Democrats after a serious Republican campaign to unseat them, the New Jersey Globe projects.

Democrats have fully controlled the 38th district, which covers a variety of Democratic-leaning suburbs in Bergen County, since 2004. The current team of Lagana, Swain, and Tully was assembled in 2018 after the departure of State Sen. Bob Gordon (D-Fair Lawn), and the trio were not strongly challenged by Republicans several cycles in a row.

That changed this year, when the Bergen GOP – energized by solid 2021 results, in which Lagana defeated an unheralded challenger 53%-47% – decided to put serious effort into recruiting strong challengers to take Lagana, Swain, and Tully down.

Their efforts were not hugely successful. Paramus Councilman Robert Kaiser and other local officeholders across the 38th district were approached about potential campaigns, but all declined, leaving the GOP with a slate of largely untested candidates; Attieh briefly served on a school board decades ago, while Horton previously ran for the 38th district in 2018 and lost in a landslide.

Still, the race was competitive enough that Lagana and his running mates spent millions of dollars to keep their seats, and PACs affiliated with Senate and Assembly leadership threw down substantial sums as well. That spending, as well as the underlying Democratic lean of the district, ultimately proved to be enough to convincingly re-elect Lagana, Swain, and Tully for another term.

See all 2023 election results HERE.