The voters have spoken. And neither party emerged with a clear mandate. The Democrats will maintain their majorities in both the Senate (23-17) and General Assembly (42-38). The Democratic Party picked up one seat in the State Senate with wins by Jeff Van Drew in District 1 and Jim Whelan in District 2 to offset the loss of Ellen Karcher in District 12. The Republicans were able to recapture a seat traditionally held by the party in the 12th with Jennifer Beck’s victory and they held on to retiring Senator Peter Inverso’s seat in the 14th. Sadly, lesbian candidate Gina Genovese lost in her bid to unseat Tom Kean, Jr. in the 21st. In the General Assembly the Republicans picked up three seats with wins in the 2nd, 8th, and 12th Districts to offset a loss in the 14th.
