Indian-American State
Senator Vin Gopal has been reelected for a third term in the New Jersey Senate,
winning the most expensive legislative races in the State history.
The 38-year-old
Democrat Senator defeated his Republican challenger, Steve Dnistrian, in New
Jersey’s 11th Congressional District on Tuesday, garnering nearly 60 per cent
of the vote over Dnistrian and helping to flip control of both of the district’s
Assembly seats for Democrats.
Gopal is presently
the youngest member of the New Jersey State Senate and the first South-Asian
American to be elected to the Senate in the State’s history, according to his
campaign.
Polls were open in
at least 37 States of US on Tuesday. New Jersey’s legislature comprises the State
Senate and Assembly and has 120 members from 40 districts.
Each district has
one representative in the Senate and two in the Assembly that serve four- and
two-year terms.
All 120 seats are
on the ballot in November’s general election, according to The Philadelphia
Inquirer newspaper.
The
Republican-leaning 11th District had been a major focus of the Republicans this
year, according to the New Jersey Monitor news portal, with Republicans hoping
that a campaign centred on offshore wind and LGBTQ issues in schools would doom
the Democrats.
Gopal’s seat in
the district is one of the top targets of the Republican Party this year,
according to the report.
The contest was
one of the most expensive legislative races in state history, according to
nj.com news portal.
By October,
Democrats raised US$ 3.4 million and spent US$ 3.5 million, while Republicans
raised only US$ 460,339 and spent US$ 444,970. Several outside groups also
poured money into the battle, according to the report.
Gopal, first
elected in 2017 and reelected in 2021, received 58 per cent of the vote to 38
per cent for Dnistrian. He attributed his success to his constituent services
and bipartisanship.
“You all tonight
made history!” Gopal was quoted as saying in the report after the results were
announced.
Gopal currently
chairs the Senate Education Committee and is the Senate Majority Conference
Leader. He previously served as the Chair of the Senate Military and Veterans
Affairs Committee, according to his campaign.
He is also the
Vice-Chair of the Senate Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic
Preservation Committee and a member of the Health, Human Services, and Senior
Citizens Committee.
During the Covid pandemic,
he created a districtwide organisation of business, community, church, and
nonprofit leaders to address the challenges of the coronavirus to the local
economy.
Born and raised in
New Jersey, Gopal holds Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Rutgers
University and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.
PTI
