State Sen. Mike Testa (R-Vineland) and his running mates, Assemblymen Antwan McClellan (R-Ocean City) and Erik Simonsen (R-Lower), have won re-election in the 1st legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 9:27 p.m., Testa leads Democrat Charles Laspata 60%-40%, while McClellan and Simonsen have a combined 58% of the vote against Democrats Damita White-Morris and Eddie Bonner. South Jersey Democrats invested substantial sums in flipping several nearby legislative districts from Republicans, but ignored the 1st district entirely.
Just a few years ago, the 1st district was electing a team of Democrats led by then-State. Sen. Jeff Van Drew, a center-right Democrat who became a hugely popular figure in the district. But after Van Drew was elected to Congress in 2018, 1st district Democrats quickly fell apart, and Testa, Simonsen, and McClellan unseated a trio of Democratic incumbents in 2019 to flip the seat red.
Testa is considered a rising star in the state GOP; he was briefly a contender for Senate Minority Leader earlier this year, and could be a candidate for Congress or for governor down the road.
See all 2023 election results HERE.
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