New Jersey Republicans are regrouping after losing seats in the General Assembly despite many political analysts predicting the party had a shot at a majority in a state house for the first time since 1999.
There is a difference of opinion among New Jersey Republican Party leaders and political analysts about whether they have a problem with their message or brand, according to interviews conducted by Gothamist. But there is widespread agreement that Republicans need to turn more of their supporters out to vote.
“We’ve already met to talk about vote-by-mail,” Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio said. “We did improve but we didn’t improve enough.”
More than twice as many Democrats as Republicans voted ahead of Election Day — either through mailed ballots, or early in-person voting.
“It’s going to take some time, the vote-by-mail thing,” DiMaio said. “We’re slowly integrating that in, but there’s a certain group of Republicans in New Jersey who have their own reservations about it.”
Former President Donald Trump has spoken out against mail-in voting and made false claims that it allows mass fraud. That perception is hurting the GOP in New Jersey, where there are already a million more registered Democrats than Republicans, DiMaio said, although he didn’t mention Trump by name.
DiMaio says recent increases in campaign donation limits hurt Republicans because Democrats, the state’s majority party, were able to outraise them.
Democrats had outraised Republicans $13.4 million to $4.4 million by mid-October, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. In heavily contested races, Democrats outspent Republicans by even greater amounts.
Many Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy, have said the election results are a rejection of two issues that Republicans championed this year: Opposition to offshore wind power developments and allegiance to a “parents’ rights” movement that rejects of anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+…
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