Democrat,

As we begin a new year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the major accomplishments our Democratic Party achieved in 2021. 

The common theme among all of these victories is simple — they could never have happened without Democrats like you who are working hard every day to make your own communities, our state and our nation better, stronger and fairer.  

RE-ELECTING GOVERNOR MURPHY AND LT. GOVERNOR OLIVER 

With your strong support and encouragement, Phil Murphy became the first Democratic Governor of our state to win re-election since 1977. He was joined by Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who is now the first Democrat ever re-elected to the position. Governor Murphy’s campaign was about moving New Jersey forward into a stronger, fairer future that delivers for every resident, not just the wealthy and well-connected. That is a theme that we as Democrats must continue to strive for, from our local communities to Washington DC because we know that our party is rewarded for providing results, not just rhetoric.  

FLIPPING THE 16TH DISTRICT SENATE SEAT 

Democrats have never held the 16th District Senate seat, but that will change this month when Andrew Zwicker is sworn-in to represent the people of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset. In a year when Democrats faced many challenges, Senator-elect Zwicker is actually the only member of our party to flip a legislative seat in the country. Now he will take office along with his running mates Assemblyman Roy Freiman and Assemblywoman-elect Sadaf Jaffer, who also has the distinction of becoming the first Muslim to serve in the state legislator along with her new colleague Assemblywoman-elect Shama Haider.  

WINNING THE CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING PROCESS 

Thanks to the hard work of our redistricting commissioners led by Chairwoman Janice Fuller, our party’s map was chosen as the winner of the Congressional Redistricting process. This new map meets the principles that we aspired to at the outset of this process and ensures that we have fair districts that will enhance minority representation and accurately reflect the partisan and demographic composition of our state. This map sets us on a path to victory in 2022 and our New Jersey Democratic State Committee will now shift our focus to working closely with each of our congressional campaigns to build capacity, connect with voters and bring out the support needed to win these seats and help Democrats hold the majority in the House of Representatives. 

ELECTING A NEW STATE CHAIRMAN 

It seems like a long time ago, but it was only in June when I was elected as Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee along with our excellent leadership team. This year has been one of the most rewarding and exciting of my life in politics and public service, and I’m looking forward to keeping it going in 2022.  

We can’t just look backwards, but now it’s time to move forward together. We have several Congressional races here in New Jersey that will be critical to keeping Democrats in the majority in the House of Representatives.  

Can you chip in today to help us get the job done? 

Thank you for everything you do to make our state and our nation a better place. We couldn’t do it without you.  

Sincerely,

-- Chairman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr.