New Jersey Young Democrats Announces Endorsement and Support Lists for 2025 Election

Trenton, NJ - New Jersey Young Democrats (NJYD) is proud to endorse 50 young Democratic candidates through the age of 40 and support 114 candidates ages 41 and over for the 2025 election cycle, including enthusiastic support for Rep. Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey and Dr. Dale Caldwell for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

“In 2025, we stand at a defining crossroads for our state, our nation, and our democracy. Every election is about more than politics—it’s about people, progress, and protecting the future we deserve. That’s why the New Jersey Young Democrats are committed to uplifting candidates who reflect the voices of our generation: bold, diverse, and unafraid to fight for justice. Together, we can break barriers, defend freedoms, and ensure that leadership at every level looks like the communities it serves. This year, I’m calling on every voter—especially young people—to not just show up, but to lead the way. Our power is in our vote, and our moment to shape history is now,” stated NJYD President Fatima Heyward.

NJYD endorsements were open to all Democratic candidates in good standing through the age of 40. In order to qualify, candidates were required to complete an endorsement application and submit it by September 1st, after which the candidates were closely vetted.

Each year, NJYD also supports Democratic candidates ages 41 and over who are in good standing and who complete NJYD’s support application by the deadline. All candidates then undergo a rigorous review process.

“Elections are the foundation of our democracy, and they give each of us the power to shape the future we want to see. Every ballot cast is a voice for progress, justice, and accountability. That’s why it’s essential that we all stay engaged, informed, and ready to vote. Our collective power at the polls is how we ensure our communities are represented and our values are protected,” said NJYD Executive Vice President Jordan Lewis.

New Jersey Young Democrats is proud to endorse the following candidates:

• Alaa Abdelaziz for General Assembly (LD-35)

• Anthony Angelozzi for General Assembly (LD-8)

• Katie Brennan for General Assembly (LD-32)

• Clinton Calabrese for General Assembly (LD-36)

• Guy Citron for General Assembly (LD-23)

• Kyler Dineen for General Assembly (LD-12)

• Vaibhav Gorige for General Assembly (LD-13)

• Andrew Macurdy for General Assembly (LD-21)

• Michael P. Mancuso for General Assembly (LD-26)

• Walter Mielarczyk for General Assembly (LD-26)

• Cody D. Miller for General Assembly (LD-4)

• William Moen Jr. for General Assembly (LD-5)

• Chigozie Onyema for General Assembly (LD-28)

• Tyler Powell for General Assembly (LD-23)

• Steve Pylypchuk for General Assembly (LD-25)

• William B. Sampson IV for General Assembly (LD-31)

• Balvir Singh for General Assembly (LD-7)

• Max Blum for Morris County Commissioner

• John Saban for Mount Ephraim Borough Commissioner

• John Balwierczak for North Arlington Borough Council

• Suraiya Basil for Hi-Nella Borough Council

• Christopher Basista for Manville Borough Council

• Patrick Bieger for Denville Township Council, At-Large

• David Chait for Hopewell Township Committee

• Lee Clark for Phillipsburg Town Council

• Will DiGrande for Warren Township Committee

• Paul Brenan Duerr for Hawthorne Borough Council, At-Large

• Kyana T. Evans for Paulsboro Municipal Council

• Francesco Fasolo for Elmwood Park Council

• Jill Gomez for Hillsborough Township Committee

• Kimberly Grieser for Galloway Council

• Michael Ivey for Morris Plains Borough Council

• Nicholas F. LaBelle for Union Township Committee

• Samantha Loveman for Hainesport Township Committee

• Christina Malecki for Fair Haven Borough Council

• Shawn McCleery for Pitman Borough Council

• Daniella Mendez for Dover Town Council, Ward 1

• Cameron Morissette for Denville Township Council, Ward 1

• Michael Nocentino for Woolwich Township Committee

• Joseph S. Oswald for Elmwood Park Council

• Mansi Mukesh Patel for Long Hill Township Committee

• Diya Patel for Parsippany Town Council

• Ariel Piña for Beverly City Council

• Aria Sophia Shoemaker for South Harrison Township Committee

• Nicholas Smith for Woodbury Heights Borough Council

• Shepa Uddin for Franklin Township Council

• Caite Wolak for Clayton Borough Council

• Albin Xavier for Watchung Borough Council

• Zaire Saleem Ali for North Brunswick Township School Board

• Alisha Khan for South Brunswick Board of Education

New Jersey Young Democrats is proud to support the following candidates:

• Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey

• Dale Caldwell for Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey

• Benjie E. Wimberly for New Jersey State Senate (LD-35)

• Donna C. Abene for General Assembly (LD-39)

• Rosy Bagolie for General Assembly (LD-27)

• Dave Bailey, Jr. for General Assembly (LD-3)

• Steve Barratt for General Assembly (LD-24)

• Janine G. Bauer for General Assembly (LD-10)

• Lisa Bennett for General Assembly (LD-9)

• Ravi Bhalla for General Assembly (LD-32)

• Linda S. Carter for General Assembly (LD-22)

• Alixon Collazos-Gill for General Assembly (LD-27)

• Jason M. Corley, Sr. for General Assembly (LD-13)

• Craig J. Coughlin for General Assembly (LD-19)

• Joe Danielsen for General Assembly (LD-17)

• Wayne P. DeAngelo for General Assembly (LD-14)

• Joanne DeBenedictis for General Assembly (LD-30)

• Margie Donlon for General Assembly (LD-11)

• Mitchelle Drulis for General Assembly (LD-16)

• Kevin Egan for General Assembly (LD-17)

• Gigi Esparza for General Assembly (LD-10)

• Joanne Famularo for General Assembly (LD-2)

• Roy Freiman for General Assembly (LD-16)

• Jeffrey Gates for General Assembly (LD-40)

• Louis D. Greenwald for General Assembly (LD-6)

• Eugene Grinberg for General Assembly (LD-24)

• Shama A. Haider for General Assembly (LD-37)

• Dan Hutchinson for General Assembly (LD-4)

• Melinda Kane for General Assembly (LD-6)

• Robert Karabinchak for General Assembly (LD-18)

• Andrea Katz for General Assembly (LD-8)

• Vincent Kearney for General Assembly (LD-21)

• Rosalee Keech for General Assembly (LD-9)

• James Kennedy for General Assembly (LD-22)

• Yvonne Lopez for General Assembly (LD-19)

• Tennille R. McCoy for General Assembly (LD-14)

• Carmen Theresa Morales for General Assembly (LD-34)

• Carol Murphy for General Assembly (LD-7)

• Ellen Park for General Assembly (LD-37)

• Luanne Peterpaul for General Assembly (LD-11)

• Eliana Pintor Marin for General Assembly (LD-29)

• Annette Quijano for General Assembly (LD-20)

• Verlina Reynolds-Jackson for General Assembly (LD-15)

• Ed Rodriguez for General Assembly (LD-20)

• Gabriel Rodriguez for General Assembly (LD-33)

• Maureen Rowan for General Assembly (LD-2)

• Carolyn Rush for General Assembly (LD-1)

• Carol Sabo for General Assembly (LD-1)

• Gary S. Schaer for General Assembly (LD-36)

• Alexander “Avi” Schnall for General Assembly (LD-30)

• Heather Simmons for General Assembly (LD-3)

• William W. Spearman for General Assembly (LD-5)

• Shanique Speight for General Assembly (LD-29)

• Sterley S. Stanley for General Assembly (LD-18)

• Kenyatta Stewart for General Assembly (LD-35)

• Lisa Swain for General Assembly (LD-38)

• Marisa Sweeney for General Assembly (LD-25)

• Freshta Taeb for General Assembly (LD-12)

• Cleopatra Tucker for General Assembly (LD-28)

• Chris Tully for General Assembly (LD-38)

• Michael Venezia for General Assembly (LD-34)

• Anthony S. Verrelli for General Assembly (LD-15)

• Jerry Walker for General Assembly (LD-31)

• Larry Weinstein for General Assembly (LD-33)

• Colleen Bianco Bezich for Camden County Commissioner

• Randy Brolo for Burlington County Commissioner

• Vito Colasurdo for Monmouth County Commissioner

• Ethel M. Conry for Warren County Commissioner

• Allison Eckel for Burlington County Commissioner

• Jennifer Fleisher for Camden County Commissioner

• Jocelyn Mathiasen for Morris County Commissioner

• Jacqui Wenzel for Monmouth County Commissioner

• Jim Kostoplis for Burlington County Sheriff

• Mike Warren for Monmouth County Sheriff

• Michelle A. Gentek-Mayer for Camden County Surrogate

• Alison De Noia for Monmouth County Clerk

• Pulkit Desai for Parsippany Mayor

• Michael Kassai for Hawthorne Borough Mayor

• Jenny Mundell for Bloomfield Mayor

• Rachel C. Green for Millville City Commissioner

• Bryan Acciani for Neptune Township Committee

• Natashia Baxter for Mount Olive Town Council

• Andrew Bucko for Bridgewater Township Council

• Monica Charris Tabares for Bloomfield Town Council, At-Large

• Lori Faye for Lumberton Township Committee

• Jill Fischman for Bloomfield Town Council, At-Large

• Trina Folkes for Bound Brook Council

• Antoine Gayles for Mount Olive Town Council

• Joan G. Geiger for Bridgewater Township Council

• Rosalee Gonzalez for Bloomfield Town Council, Ward 1

• Ridwana Isla for Bridgewater Township Council

• Matthew Francis Kavanagh for Parsippany Town Council

• John F. “Jack” Lohr for Hawthorne Borough Council

• Kendall Lopez for Bound Brook Council

• Charlyn Martin for Carneys Point Township Committee

• Gregory Martin for Carneys Point Township Committee

• Cindy S. McCoy for Hi-Nella Committee

• Raymond Menard for Boonton Township Committee

• Courtney Peters-Manning for Hopewell Township Committee

• Joyce Pratt for Galloway City Council

• Judy Rugg for Dover Town Council, Ward 2

• Jonathan Sackett for Rockaway Township Council

• Beth Schroeder Buonsante for Mullica Township Committee

• Baramdai “Alicia” Sharma for Mount Olive Town Council

• Yvette Soto for Hamilton Township Committee

• Lauren Spirig for Mendham Township Committee

• Corinne Taylor-Walls for Cinnaminson Township Committee

• Tara Temprano for Hawthorne Borough Council

• Tracy Thompson for Hamilton Township Committee

• Rachael White for Raritan Township Committee

• Jacqueline Williams for Woolwich Township Committee

• Thelma Witherspoon for Hamilton Township Committee

• Anastasia Zuccaro for Shamong Township Committee

• Saima Abrar Bhutta for Moorestown Board of Education

“It is outstanding to see so many Democratic candidates running for office this election cycle, including so many young candidates. We are immensely proud of each and every person who has answered the proverbial call to serve,” said NJYD Political Director Stephanie Casella. She added, “This work is vital, but just as important is getting out the vote. If you are not already registered to vote, please ensure you register by October 14th. For registered voters: you can vote early at your polling location from Saturday, October 25th through Sunday, November 2nd, or on General Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 4th, from 6:00 am-8:00 pm. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked or returned by November 4th at 8:00 pm.”

NJYD’s endorsements and support do not denote and are not an exhaustive list of all campaigns NJYD supports in New Jersey; these lists comprise those exclusively who applied for NJYD’s endorsement or support by the September 1st deadline.

The New Jersey Young Democrats will hold an endorsement party in Trenton on Thursday, October 9th from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Those who would like to attend can register here. Those who are interested in generously sponsoring the event may do so here. To stay up to date on event details and future opportunities, be sure to follow NJYD on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, and Bluesky at @njyoungdems.

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