TRENTON – The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (New Jersey LCV) announced its legislative endorsements on Thursday, a bipartisan list that includes a record 38 candidates.
New Jersey LCV endorsed candidates running in 18 legislative districts, including eight full slates of candidates, two Republicans running in competitive districts, and five newcomers.
“We’re really pleased to support these candidates who have shown deep commitment to the environment and have a solid plan to win their respective elections,” said New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak.
In the three most competitive legislative districts this cycle, New Jersey LCV endorsed Chris Brown for Senate and Vincent Mazzeo for Assembly in District 2; the slate of Vin Gopal for Senate and Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey for Assembly in District 11; and Republican Christopher “Kip” Bateman for Senate and Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman for Assembly in District 16.
New Jersey LCV is the political voice for the environment working to elect candidates who will implement sound environmental policies and prioritize clean drinking water, air quality and land protections. New Jersey LCV helps defeat those who are not committed to protecting our precious natural resources.
“The environment is a core component of New Jerseyans’ quality of life; these candidates recognize that, and have demonstrated a commitment to protecting our state’s drinking water, air quality and land,” said Kelly Mooij, political chair of the New Jersey LCV Board.
Drew Tompkins, policy coordinator for New Jersey LCV, said the number of endorsements follows a record amount of interest among the candidates seeking New Jersey LCV’s support.
“Our endorsements follow a rigorous process that includes a detailed candidate questionnaire on the significant environmental challenges facing New Jersey,” said Tompkins. “We screen first-time candidates carefully and assess the voting records and leadership of elected officials seeking our endorsement for re-election.”
One tool in this assessment is New Jersey LCV’s 2017 Legislative Scorecard, which tracked 20 key votes in the Senate and Assembly, then assigned each incumbent an overall score based on their environmental voting record.
View the most recent scorecard here.
New Jersey LCV endorsees are seen as environmental champions who reliably prioritize conservation and environmental protections when considering legislative issues.
Here is the complete list of endorsements:
Phil Murphy for Governor
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop
District 2: Senate: Chris Brown; Assembly: Vincent Mazzeo
District 6: Assembly: Pamela Lampitt
District 7: Senate: Troy Singleton; Assembly: Herb Conaway, Carol Murphy
District 11: Senate Vin Gopal; Assembly: Eric Houghtaling, Joann Downey
District 12: Assembly: Ronald Dancer
District 14: Senate: Linda Greenstein; Assembly: Daniel Benson
District 15: Assembly: Elizabeth Muoio
District 16: Senate: Christopher “Kip” Bateman; Assembly: Andrew Zwicker, Roy Freiman
District 17: Senate: Bob Smith; Assembly: Joe Danielsen
District 18: Senate: Patrick Diegnan; Assembly: Nancy Pinkin, Robert Karabinchak
District 19: Senate: Joseph Vitale; Assembly: Craig Coughlin
District 20: Assembly: Jamel Holley
District 25: Senate: Lisa Bhimani; Assembly: Thomas Moran, Richard Corcoran
District 27: Senate: Richard Codey; Assembly: John McKeon, Mila Jasey
District 35: Senate: Nellie PouDistrict 36: Assembly: Gary Schaer
District 37: Senate: Loretta Weinberg; Assembly: Gordon Johnson, Valerie Vainieri Huttle
District 38: Senate: Bob Gordon; Assembly: Tim Eustace, Joseph Lagana
For more information, visit our Endorsements page here.