Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio was re-elected to a third term despite losing what appears to be five seats in Tuesday’s election after an acrimonious closed-door meeting of the Republican caucus in Trenton this morning.
If leads by Democrats for one seat each in the 2nd and 25th districts hold, Republicans would be reduced to 23 members in the eight-member lower house – their lowest level since the Watergate scandal dropped them to fourteen after the 1973 election.
Republicans have lost eleven Assembly seats since DiMaio replaced Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) after the 2021 election.
Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) sought a change in leadership after the 2023 and 2025 losses, but Republicans wouldn’t permit a discussion and shut Webber down by voting to table his motion.
“We needed to go in a different direction. It was unconscionable that a discussion was not permitted,” Webber said. “I like John. It’s not about John as a legislator, or John as a man. It’s about the credibility of this caucus.”
Webber said he was not interested in the job, but that he was “looking out for Republicans who want strong leadership and want somebody else to give it a try.”
“If you had a pitcher who was 0-11, even if you liked the guy, you would give the ball to someone else,” Webber said.
DiMaio said he was honored to get another.
“Now more than ever, New Jersey families, seniors and businesses struggling under decades of Democrat control need us to be their voice in Trenton. We will hold Democrats accountable and pressure the majority party to lower costs and taxes, increase reliable energy generation to help ratepayers, and fairly fund schools,” he said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are in it for the long haul and will fight for the future of New Jersey.”
Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz were also re-elected by acclamation to a third term today. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin is expected to win a fifth term this morning.
Among the losers this week was Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz (R-Summit), who had served in the legislature for over sixteen years. DiMaio will need to replace Muñoz as the Assembly Republican Budget officer.
DiMaio defeated Muñoz for minority leader in 2021, 19-15. During that intra-caucus campaign, Muñoz appeared to secure enough votes to win the post after two of her opponents, DiMaio and then-Assemblyman Ned Thomson (R-Wall), agreed to run on a slate with her. DiMaio was slotted for conference leader, and Thomson was to be deputy minority leader. McClellan was picked for minority whip on the Muñoz team.
But Muñoz’s campaign began to unravel days later when conservative activists began objecting to a pro-choice Republican with positions on guns and vaccinations that are inconsistent with the GOP caucus to become their leader. As a result, Muñoz was unable to secure public endorsements from Thomson and DiMaio supporters who had been expected to join the deal.
