Community Corner

District 11 Democratic Challengers Look Ahead Following Defeat

State Senate and Assembly candidates called the campaign rewarding, despite loss.

It was just after 9 p.m., with a majority of polls throughout Monmouth County reporting and the Republican incumbents holding a significant lead, when Vin Gopal stood before an enthusiastic crowd of supporters in Red Bank and began to tell them the bad news.

Gopal, one of three Democrats hoping to break into the newly remapped District 11 legislator, conceded victory for himself and his cohorts in both the State Senate and Assembly races, but also took the opportunity – likely while Republicans were celebrating their imminent victory 15 miles away in Freehold – to talk about hard work and a future, still, comprised of positive expectations.

“We worked very, very hard,” the 26 year old said. “But, this was never about Ray, Kathy, or I. We were inspired by so many people we’ve met. I promise, we are just getting started.”

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Gopal and Kathy Horgan failed to upset Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini in the District 11 Assembly. Casagrande and Angelini received 18,679 and 18,420 votes, respetively. Gopal and Horgan, a Red Bank councilwoman who was a latecomer to the assembly race, earned 15,333 and 15,000 votes, respectively.

Sen. Jennifer Beck bested Ray Santiago 20,156 to 15,149 votes, according to the Monmouth County election website.

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The Democrats promised to fight for lower property taxes and to make it easier for small businesses to operate in the state, two campaign promises usually stacked one or two on Republican flyers. Santiago said the race wasn’t about political party, but about doing what the Republicans had failed to do.

Though the candidates were hopeful that the redistricting, which included 11 new towns, would help offset the name-recognition voting bonus incumbents usually benefit from, it still was not enough.

Santiago said he was proud of the effort given by the Democrats as well as their combined campaign message.

“We fought every inch of the way and never gave up,” he said.

But, with an underdog slate running a campaign in a legislative election in a typically Republican-controlled area, it wasn’t a surprise to find the Democrats with a typical underdog showing in the polls.

Still, Gopal touched on a matter that may have influenced voters just days before the election. In a campaign mailer sent by Republicans, Gopal was tied to former Assemblyman Joseph Vas, who was sent to prison. While in college, a 20-year-old Gopal served in an internship role on Vas’s campaign.

“Apparently, I should be in prison right now. Thank God I’m not, Gopal joked at the Democratic headquarters on Front Street.

While the Star Ledger debunked the Republican mailer’s and called the attack ad “utter filth,” it’s unclear what, if any, role the mailer had in influencing the voters of Monmouth County.

Allegations of dirty politics aside, Horgan praised her running mates for keeping things clean and running on the issues.

“We may not have won the election, but we gained so much in running,” she said. “I don’t regret one second of it.”


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