Assemblywoman Carmen Morales (D-Belleville) and Assemblyman Mike Venezia (D-Bloomfield) are likely headed for second terms in the State Assembly after defeating primary challengers affiliated with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, the New Jersey Globe projects, though Venezia came closer than expected to a loss.
Fulop recruited two current or former local officeholders for Essex County’s highly diverse 34th legislative district: former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks and Belleville Councilman Frank Vélez. Both are quite young – Claybrooks is 33 and Vélez is 23 – and have at various points been seen as rising stars in the party.
The campaign never became the focus of statewide attention the way some other Assembly races did, but Claybrooks, who ran for Congress in a special election last year, put in a strong showing. As of 10:02 p.m., Morales leads the field with 34% of the vote, followed by Venezia with 27%; Claybrooks has 24%, and Vélez has 15%.
A brief look at district-by-district results indicates that Claybrooks’ solid performance is due in part to her strength in East Orange, where she served on the council until losing party support for another term in 2023.
Morales and Venezia were both first elected in 2023, after a redraw of the state’s legislative map led to a major shakeup in Essex County’s Democratic delegation. Venezia was previously the mayor of Bloomfield; Morales is a top administrator at the Essex County Schools of Technology.
The district is deeply Democratic, so the pair of assemblymembers should be fine this fall against Republicans Lorenzo Marchese Jr. and Demetrius Eley.
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