MORRISTOWN - When Marisa Sweeney got a text from Phil Murphy she thought it may have been a scam. So, she checked the number with some fellow Democrats.

Turns out it really was the governor and he was congratulating her on a major political accomplishment - winning an Assembly seat in a mostly Morris County district, the first Democrat to do that since the 1970s.

"I'm beyond excited. It still doesn't even, honestly, seem totally real," Sweeney said in a recent chat in a local coffee shop.

"But it is."

Indeed.

Sweeney, a 41-year-old registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Be Well Integrative Health Services, grabbed the second seat in LD-25 with 47,926 votes, ousting incumbent Republican Christian Barranco by a bit more than 600 votes. Incumbent Republican Aura Dunn, the top vote getter, won re-election. The district covers 18 towns in Morris and one, West Milford, in Passaic County.

The 2023 race in the district was relatively close, but still, a win for a Democrat is a big deal. Gordon MacIinnes won a state Senate seat in the district in 1993, but was defeated four years later. The last Democrat to win an Assembly seat in a mostly Morris County district was Rosemarie Totaro in 1978.

Sweeney, who serves on the Morristown planning board, acknowledges she was not certain of victory.

"I knew going into this race that I was the underdog. So I was hoping to just get my name out there," she said.

"It didn't seem like this was the year the district was going to flip in any way," she added. "I kind of made peace with that, but kept on going anyway."

As it turned out, Sweeney and her Democratic running mate, Steve Pylypchuk, both won Morris County. Votes in West Milford, a GOP stronghold, put Dunn over the top, but Sweeney held on.

Mikie Sherrill, of course, had a lot to do with that. Sherrill won Morris by almost 2,000 votes.

With her victory secured, Sweeney says she's getting congratulations all around.

Andy Kim called and they talked for about 30 minutes

Tom Malinowski, the former congressman and current CD-11 candidate, also reached out.

As for the other side of the aisle, Sweeney said she was congratulated by Dunn.

Looking ahead, Sweeney said she would like to be on the Health Committee, which would coincide with her professional work.

She also has interest in the Budget and Appropriations committees, but knows those spots generally go to more senior legislators.

If there's one passion she's going to take to Trenton, she said it's protecting social programs, especially in light of federal budget cuts and the government shutdown that suspended the SNAP or food stamp program.

"We're going to see these cuts coming and have to react to them," she said.

This position puts her right in step with incoming Governor Sherrill who campaigned against federal cuts to social programs.
One of the trickier - and long standing - Trenton problems is school funding, For starters, Sweeney said she would like to see the school aid formula reviewed every two years.

The Assemblywoman-elect got her first taste of her new job when she attended the Dems' post-election caucus last week.

Sweeney said her GPS took her to Trenton one way and back another way.

So, she has already discovered what all lawmakers from northwest Jersey know. There is no easy way to get to Trenton.