Republican Assembly slate in LD14 gets off-the-line challenger

Bina Shah, a Republican who ran for the 14th legislative district in 2019 and 2021, will run again for the Assembly this year despite not getting party support.

“I ran in 2019, when nobody wanted to run,” Shah told the New Jersey Globe. “In 2021, I ran and came very close. So why not again in 2023?”

The 14th district, which covers parts of Mercer and Middlesex Counties, leans Democratic but has hosted competitive races in the past. In 2021, Shah came in fourth place with 21% of the vote, losing to incumbent Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Dan Benson (D-Hamilton).

Central Jersey Republicans, who see the 14th district as a longshot pickup opportunity this year, are backing Patricia Johnson for the Senate and Adam Elias and Skye Gilmartin for the Assembly. Shah competed at the Mercer Republican convention for party support, but finished in a distant third place behind Elias and Gilmartin; she claimed that she was not consulted on the party endorsement at all.

“There was no discussion on anything,” she said. “They had the convention and told me, these are the winners, you’re off the party line. And I said, okay, fine.”

This story was updated at 10:42 a.m. on March 28 with information about Shah’s appearance at the Mercer Republican convention.