The NJEA PAC made new endorsements of 38 legislative candidates in this year’s election.

The PAC released the following:

The 125-member political action committee of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) has voted to endorse 38 candidates for election to the New Jersey Legislature this November. NJEA PAC voted on the recommendations of local interview teams from each legislative district.

These endorsements are in conjunction with endorsements made earlier this summer. View the complete list of endorsements in the 2021 general election here.

Earlier, NJEA’s officers spoke about the endorsement process and the importance of electing supporters of public education in New Jersey.

NJEA President Marie Blistan praised the candidates who earned endorsement. “Our members take this process very seriously and only endorse those candidates who have a demonstrated commitment to public education and a record of support. The candidates who earned these endorsements know that it comes with our pledge that we will work hard to get them elected and our expectation that we will work together for the benefit of New Jersey’s students and our public schools. We back up our endorsements with action because we know the importance of having leaders in place who share our values and our belief in our public schools.

NJEA Vice President Sean M. Spiller had particular praise for Gov. Phil Murphy, who again earned NJEA members’ enthusiastic endorsement. “In 2017, our members endorsed Gov. Murphy on the basis of his promises and his progressive vision for public education. This year, he earned our endorsement on the basis of his outstanding record as governor. He’s kept and even exceeded his promises to New Jersey families and public school employees while guiding New Jersey through some of the most challenging times in our state’s history. We are excited to work until November to get him reelected so we can continue New Jersey’s progress together.”

NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Steve Beatty noted that legislative endorsements also matter to our students and their families. “We are proud to support all of these legislative candidates. They have demonstrated their commitment to our students and our public schools and they are going to see our commitment to getting them elected in November. We owe it to our students to model the importance of civic engagement and we owe it to them to help build a fairer, stronger future for them. Supporting these candidates lets us do both of those things at the same time.”

The new endorsements include:

• LD 1: No endorsement for Senate and John Capizola, Jr. (D) and Erik Simonsen (R) for Assembly
• LD 7: Troy Singleton (D) for Senate and Herb Conaway (D) and Carol A. Murphy (D) for Assembly
• LD 8: No endorsement
• LD 9: No endorsement
• LD 10: Emma Mammano (D) for Senate and Gregory P. McGuckin (R) for Assembly
• LD 17: Bob Smith (D) for Senate and Joseph V. Egan (D) and Joe Danielsen (D) for Assembly
• LD 18: Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr. (D) for Senate and Robert J. Karabinchak (D) and Sterley S. Stanley (D) for Assembly
• LD 19: Joseph F. Vitale (D) for Senate and Craig J Coughlin (D) and Yvonne Lopez (D) for Assembly
• LD 24: No endorsement
• LD 29: No endorsement
• LD 31: Sandra B. Cunningham (D) for Senate and William Sampson (D) for Assembly
• LD 32: Nicholas J. Sacco (D) for Senate and Angelica M. Jimenez (D) and Pedro Mejia (D) for Assembly
• LD 33: No endorsement for Senate and Annette Chaparro (D) and Raj Mukherji (D) for Assembly
• LD 35: Nellie Pou (D) for Senate and Shavonda E. Sumter (D) and Benjie E. Wimberly (D) for Assembly
• LD 36: Paul A. Sarlo (D) for Senate and Clinton Calabrese (D) and Gary S. Schaer (D) for Assembly
• LD 37: Gordon M. Johnson (D) for Senate and Shama A. Hadier (D) and Ellen J. Park (D) for Assembly
• LD 38: Joseph A. Lagana (D) for Senate and Lisa Swain (D) and P. Christopher Tully (D) for Assembly
• LD 39: Ruth Dugan (D) for Senate and Karlito Almeda (D) and Melinda Iannuzzi (D) for Assembly.