Jennifer Beck (born January 3, 1967) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey State Senate representing the 11th Legislative District from 2012 to 2018. Prior to redistricting, she served in the Senate from 2008 to 2012 representing the 12th Legislative District, serving portions of Monmouth and Mercer counties. Beck represented the 12th District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2006 to 2008.
Jennifer Beck | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New Jersey Senate | |
| In office January 8, 2008 – January 9, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Ellen Karcher |
| Succeeded by | Vin Gopal |
| Constituency | 12th district (2008-2012) 11th district (2012-2018) |
| Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 12th district | |
| In office January 10, 2006 – January 8, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Lewis Morgan |
| Succeeded by | Caroline Casagrande Declan O'Scanlon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 3, 1967 Erie, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Political party | Republican |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania, M.A. Boston College, B.A. |
Political career
editBeck is a former Republican Party fundraiser who served for six years on the Red Bank Borough Council, from 1999 to 2005.[2] She holds a B.A. from Boston College (Physics and Mathematics) and was awarded an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania (Government Administration).[2] Beck is also an alumna of the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania.[citation needed]
Beck won a very close Assembly election on November 8, 2005. As of December 6, 2005, she was declared winner of one of the seats, and was the top vote getter in the District with 31,418 votes. Democratic freshman Assemblyman Michael J. Panter won re-election with 30,466 votes, narrowly edging Beck's running mate, Declan O'Scanlon, who had 30,401 votes, just 65 fewer than Panter. One-term incumbent Robert Lewis Morgan lost his bid for re-election, coming in fourth with 30,228 votes. Two Green Party candidates each received about 2,000 votes.[3][4] While in the Assembly, Beck served on the Judiciary Committee, the State Government Committee and the Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.[2]
In the 2007 general election, Beck won her bid for a seat in the New Jersey Senate in a race against incumbent Democrat Ellen Karcher, in which Beck was outspent by a nearly seven-to-one margin.[5] For the 2011 elections, Beck was moved into the 11th District where she beat Democrat Raymond Santiago by over 13 points.[6] She was subsequently reelected by over 21 points in 2013 beating Democrat Michael Brantley and independent Marie E. Amato-Juckiewicz.[7] Beck served on the Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity, the Budget and Appropriations Committee, and the Community and Urban Affairs Committee.[8]
In November 2008, a petition was launched to urge the 2009 Republican nominee for Governor of New Jersey to select Beck as his/her lieutenant governor. Nevertheless, on July 20, 2009, nominee Chris Christie announced that he had chosen Kimberly Guadagno, Monmouth County sheriff, to complete his campaign ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor.[9]
Described by NJ.com as "perhaps the biggest upset of the night", Beck lost her bid for re-election in 2017 to Democratic challenger Vin Gopal, in what was the third-most expensive of the 120 legislative races statewide, with total spending in excess of $4 million.[10] The district had been represented only by Republicans since 1992. With the addition of heavily Democratic communities like Asbury Park in the 2011 apportionment, Democrats gained a 32%-23% margin over Republicans in numbers of registered voters. Democrats Joann Downey and Eric Houghtaling won the two Assembly seats in 2015 and Gopal's win over Beck by an Election Day count of 28,750 votes to 25,108 put all three District 11 seats in the hands of Democrats.[11]
Election history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Vin Gopal | 31,308 | 53.6 |  14.8
| ||
| Republican | Jennifer Beck (incumbent) | 27,150 | 46.4 |  13.6
| ||
| Total votes | 58,458 | 100.0 | ||||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jennifer Beck (incumbent) | 30,531 | 60.0 | |
| Democratic | Michael Brantley | 19,735 | 38.8 | |
| For the People | Marie E. Amato-Juckiewicz | 599 | 1.2 | |
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jennifer Beck (incumbent) | 20,226 | 56.6 | |
| Democratic | Raymond Santiago | 15,487 | 43.4 | |
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jennifer Beck | 26,743 | 53.9 | |||
| Democratic | Ellen Karcher (incumbent) | 22,844 | 46.1 | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jennifer Beck | 31,418 | 24.8 | |
| Democratic | Michael J. Panter (incumbent) | 30,466 | 24.0 | |
| Republican | Declan O'Scanlon | 30,401 | 24.0 | |
| Democratic | Robert Lewis Morgan (incumbent) | 30,228 | 23.8 | |
| Green | Ann Napolitano | 2,303 | 1.8 | |
| Green | Judith Stanton | 2,052 | 1.6 | |
References
edit- ^ "Senator Jennifer Beck" Archived 2009-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, district12.senatenj.com, accessed November 5, 2009.
- ^ a b c Assemblywoman Beck's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 21, 2008.
- ^ Quirk, James A. "O'Scanlon concedes defeat to Panter INCUMBENT SECURES VICTORY BY 73 VOTES", Asbury Park Press, December 7, 2005. Accessed August 1, 2007. "Panter, who beat O'Scanlon by a 73-vote margin, will return to Trenton next year with Republican Jennifer Beck, who received the most votes in the election. Assemblyman Robert Morgan, Panter's running mate, received the fewest votes."
- ^ a b "Official List Candidate Returns for General Assembly for November 2005 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 16, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ Beck wins; Dems control both houses[permanent dead link], Asbury Park Press, November 6, 2007. Accessed November 6, 2007.
- ^ a b Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.
- ^ a b "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ "Senator Jennifer Beck". New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
- ^ Ruth, João-Pierre (2009-07-20). "Chris Christie picks running mate". NJBiz. Archived from the original on 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ Sullivan, S. P.; and Johnson, Brent. "N.J. election results 2017: How the dramatic legislative races shook out", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 8, 2017. Accessed November 9, 2017. "In perhaps the biggest upset of the night, former Monmouth County Democratic Chair Vin Gopal unseated veteran Republican state Sen. Jennifer Beck in the 11th District along the Jersey Shore.... The candidates and outside special interest groups spent more than $4 million on the race -- the third-most of any legislative election this year."
- ^ Napoliello, Alex. "Vin Gopal upsets incumbent Jennifer Beck in hotly contested Dist. 11 race", NJ Advance media for NJ.com, November 7, 2017. Accessed November 9, 2017. "According to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk's Office, Gopal defeated Beck 28,750 votes to 25,108 votes.... This Shore district was once completely controlled by Republican lawmakers, but it saw a shift two years ago when Democrats picked up both its Assembly seats. And in redistricting, District 11 picked up Democratic towns such as Asbury Park. Democrats outnumber Republicans 32 percent to 23 percent in the district."
- ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2007 General Election Archived 2012-08-22 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 3, 2007. Accessed June 22, 2012.
External links
edit- Senator Jennifer Beck's Official Website
- Senator Jennifer Beck's Official Senate Site
- 12th Legislative District Official Site
- Senator Beck's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
- New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms
- Jennifer Beck, Project Vote Smart