Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio (R-Hackettstown) and Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Franklin) have won re-election in the 23rd legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects, though DiMaio’s caucus will still be stuck in the minority come 2026.
As of 11:36 p.m. and with most votes counted, DiMaio has 27.7% of the vote and Peterson has 26.6%. Democratic cybersecurity expert Tyler Powell has 23.1% and local Democratic activist Guy Citron has 22.6% – a closer result than Democrats in the staunchly Republican district were likely expecting.
For a few weeks at the beginning of this year, it looked like the 23rd district – which is based in Warren County and also includes parts of Somerset and Hunterdon Counties – would get a major shake-up. State Sen. Doug Steinhardt (R-Lopatcong) was Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney, DiMaio was set to run for his Senate seat, and a crowded field was developing to replace DiMaio in the Assembly.
But then Steinhardt decided to turn the post down and stay in the State Senate, bringing to a screeching halt the series of succession plans beneath him. DiMaio was redirected back into running for the State Assembly, and all of the hopefuls who hoped to replace him ended their campaigns; DiMaio and Peterson went on to win the GOP primary uncontested.
Their Democratic opponents, Citron and Powell, ran previously in 2023, and are known as unusually dogged candidates for such a tough district. It ultimately wasn’t enough to win, however, in a seat that last elected a Democratic legislator in the 1970s.
But even as he secures his own re-election, DiMaio’s GOP caucus is facing trouble elsewhere in the state; three Republican incumbents have already been projected to lose re-election, and several others are still at risk of doing so with a handful of votes left to count.