Two losing candidates for New Jersey State Senate fundraise over $100,000


Primary elections in the New Jersey State Senate took place on June 6, 2023. General elections for all 40 seats in the senate will take place on Nov. 7, 2023. Democrats hold a 25-15 majority heading into the election.

This article details the three to five candidates in each party who led in fundraising by cumulative receipts and lost their primary election. Receipt is a broad term for all money that goes into a campaign account. While contributions from individuals often make up the majority of a campaign’s receipts, money can also come from other sources such as loans taken out by the campaign, dividends or interest on loans or investments made by the campaign, transfers of money from other political committees, and offsets to a campaign’s expenditures in the form of rebates or refunds.

The below information comes from candidate reports to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The Democratic candidates who led in fundraising by cumulative receipts and lost their primary were:

  • Incumbent Nia Gill – $49,425 – District 27 (Lost primary 60%-40%)
  • Michael Griffin – $10,730 – District 31 (Lost primary 75%-25%)
  • Michelle Burwell – $10,169 – District 19 (Lost primary 86%-14%)
  • Christopher Binetti – $2,376 – District 18 (Lost primary 89%-11%)
  • Mario De Santis – $1,882 – District 3 (Lost primary 75%-25%)

The Republican candidates who led in fundraising by cumulative receipts and lost their primary were:

  • Thomas Mastrangelo – $302,136 – District 26 (Lost primary 60%-40%)
  • Beth Sawyer – $121,530 – District 3 (Lost primary 64%-36%)
  • Nick Desilvio – $12,396 – District 4 (Lost primary 60%-40%)

The New Jersey State Senate is one of eight state legislative chambers holding elections in 2023. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.