Dear Members:
As with any election, some people are thrilled with the results, some not so much. In a nutshell, there were no surprises yesterday. All of the candidates who had the “Party Line” (that is, the support of the official Democrat or Republican party) succeeded, reinforcing how difficult it is in NJ to win without “the line” at the state level.
As the NJCVC, this is why it is so important to build bridges and relationships. Positive conversations with those who are making the decisions are crucial in building that trust and respect. There are many in office/seeking office who are very new to the vaccination choice issue. We cannot get frustrated and angry when someone does not understand or agree with us. We need to keep our anger and emotions in check and approach everyone from a place of respect and envision the outcome we want to achieve.
The headlines and frustration from those wanting us all to conform to their decisions is going to get even more intense. People are still afraid and reacting from a place of fear. We know the best decisions do not come from this place. We need to work hard to make “our” issue a “safe space” where people know they are not alone and can express their concerns.
We need to continue to be active in our communities in the issues we care about and have productive conversations where appropriate. We know a solid foundation takes time. As we always say, this is a marathon, not a race. No one action is the be all or end all regarding success or failure. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter what happens. We need to continue to put one foot in front of the other and proceed in a positive direction. We can only succeed when we have more allies, not enemies.
A lot can happen between now and November/January and we will be ready. We need to reach out to candidates in the coming months and continue to educate and inform. As we approach the November general election, candidates will hold events that we can attend and be a part of.
Please don’t get discouraged, many opportunities will present themselves.
Gubernatorial Election Results:
Jack Ciattarelli received the Republican nomination with a higher total percentage than the second two vote getters (Rizzo and Singh)combined. https://ballotpedia.org/New_Jersey_gubernatorial_election,_2021_(June_8_Republican_primary)
Phil Murphy won the Democratic primary and was unchallenged.
Senate and Assembly Election Results:
https://ballotpedia.org/New_Jersey_State_Senate_elections…
https://ballotpedia.org/New_Jersey_General_Assembly…
Your local county boards of election will have more local races and county committee results.