The November 7, 2023, election results demonstrated a clear win for the environment, clean energy, and New Jersey families and workers.
The Election Day results show that 85% of the candidates endorsed for state and local elections by the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club were elected or reelected to their positions. We endorsed 24 candidates for Senate and 23 candidates for Assembly.
“The clean energy transition won, clean air won, and energy independence won in New Jersey. NJ voters are very smart and continue to vote for environmental protections, and they deeply care about transitioning away from fossil fuels,” said Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the NJ Chapter.
Candidates are endorsed based on how closely they align with Sierra Club values on climate, the environment, and environmental social justice issues. While we are very happy with the overall results of the election, we are disappointed that Christine Clarke (D-25) lost her race for state Senate.
Clarke is an environmental advocate who has dedicated her life’s work to preserving and protecting our natural resources. We know this loss will not deter her from achieving her goals.
Locally, six of the nine county and municipal candidates we endorsed won their races. John Kashwick was reelected to his seat on Clinton Town Council, and Douglas Singletary and Paul Drake also preserved their seats as Somerset County Commissioners.
In Leonia, William Ziegler and Diane Scarangella won their elections for mayor and council (respectively) by a landslide, as did Assemblyman Dan Benson, who ran successfully for Mercer County executive director.
In the coming year we look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature and Gov. Murphy to achieve critical clean energy initiatives to combat climate change and provide well-paying, green jobs that sustain families and ensure energy security and independence for New Jersey.
The NJ Chapter thanks our volunteers and supporters who made their way out to the voting booths and elected our environmental champions.
The chapter is proud of the environmental champions who were reelected and is eager to continue working with them. “We especially look forward to working with now-new Senators Raj Mukerji (D-32) and James McKeon (D-27) on protecting our environment,” Ramos-Busot said.