Assembly race in LD2 too close to call

Republican Assemblyman Don Guardian (R-Atlantic City) holds a razor-thin lead in his bid for re-election to a third term in the 2nd legislative district, but his running mate, Assemblywoman Claire Swift (R-Margate), is in fourth place and in serious danger of losing her seat.

The Democrats, retired attorney Maureen Rowan and Pleasantville Councilwoman Joanne Famularo, are currently second and third, respectively. As of 1:40 a.m., Guardian has received 39,183 votes, Rowan 38,195, Famularo 38,009, and Swift 37,932.

Republicans flipped the Atlantic City-based district in 2021, and Democrats put hundreds of thousands of dollars into an effort to regain it in 2023. But Democrats fell well short of victory that year, and Democrats didn’t put significant resources into the district this year.

But the race is tight with some mail-in ballots left to count, as well as roughly 2,000 provisional ballots in the county (though some won’t belong to LD2).  There are also 237 vote-by-mail ballots waiting to be counted.

The Republican triumvirate, with State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township), is among the most moderate in the Legislature. They voted for Democratic-led state budgets in 2022, 2023, and 2024, unusual for GOP legislators. Unsurprisingly, much of their legislative work relates to the casinos in their districts; all three co-sponsor a bill that would end the exemption for casinos in the state’s indoor smoking ban.