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Doug Steinhardt

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Doug Steinhardt
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 23rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 19, 2022
Preceded byMichael J. Doherty
Chair of the New Jersey Republican Party
In office
November 21, 2017 – December 15, 2020
Preceded byMichael B. Lavery
Succeeded byMichael B. Lavery
Chair of the Warren County Republican Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 31, 2004
Preceded byWalter Orcutt
Mayor of Lopatcong
In office
January 2000 – January 2015
Preceded byWilliam Baker
Succeeded byTom McKay
Personal details
Born
Douglas Joseph Steinhardt

(1968-11-06) November 6, 1968 (age 56)
Belvidere, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseTrudy Steinhardt
Children2
ResidenceLopatcong Township, New Jersey
EducationGettysburg College (BA)
Widener University (JD)

Douglas Joseph Steinhardt[1] (born November 6, 1968) is an American attorney and politician from New Jersey who represents the 23rd legislative district in the New Jersey Senate, since being sworn into office on December 19, 2022.[2] He previously served as the Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee from 2017 to 2020.

Early life and education

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Steinhardt was born in Belvidere, New Jersey and received his undergraduate degree in history from the Gettysburg College in 1991.[3] He was also a four-year member of the Gettysburg NCAA Division III football team. After completing his undergraduate studies he enrolled in Widener University Commonwealth Law School where he earned his J.D. in 1994.[3] During law school he served as the associate editor of the Law Review.[4]

Career

[edit]

After law school Steinhardt returned to New Jersey to begin his law career in his father's law office in Belvidere, New Jersey. In 2005 he helped form the Law Firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, LLC, by becoming the third named partner in the law firm that is headed by former New Jersey Governor James Florio.[5]

In 2015, Steinhardt was inducted into the Warren County, New Jersey Hall of Fame, joining his mother Therese, a nurse and nurse educator, who was inducted in 2013.[6]

Municipal politics

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In his first run for public office, Steinhardt was elected Mayor of Lopatcong Township in 1999, beating Democratic incumbent William Baker by twelve votes.[7][8] He ran on controlling development, and challenged Baker to debates, which Baker declined to participate in.[9] In his reelection campaign in 2002, he again defeated Baker, this time with 80% of the vote.[10][11] He ran and won with no opposition for the next three elections.[12][13][14][better source needed] He declined to run for a sixth term in 2014 and was succeeded by Tom McKay.[15][better source needed]

Steinhardt was elected chairman of the Warren County Republican Committee on January 31, 2004, to fill the unexpired term of the outgoing chair who resigned to focus on private sector opportunities. He ran on the idea of promoting inclusion among Republican committee members, some of whom often complained about a lack of communications within the county committee. He defeated his opponent by a 2–1 margin among elected members of the committee[16] According to the Express Times his leadership style and ability to bring various factions of the party together made it so that he ran unopposed for a full term six months later.[17]

After his first election as the county committee chair, Steinhardt ran unopposed and won every two years, except for 2012. In that year, Steinhardt faced opposition because he had lost his Lopatcong committee seat, though only by five votes. Steinhardt defeated a committeeperson from Greenwich Township who challenged his position in a 92–35 vote.[18]

State chairman and gubernatorial run

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He was initially nominated by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and Republican primary nominee to be the chairman of the New Jersey State Republican Committee in June 2017[19] but a last-minute appointment by the then governor of his wife to a position with the parole board caused concern for the Lieutenant Governor.[20] Steinhardt withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by Michael B. Lavery.[21] Six months later in November 2017, after the Democratic victory in the ensuing gubernatorial election, Lavery resigned and Steinhardt was named chairman.[22]

Steinhardt resigned as chairman in December 2020 and launched a bid for Governor of New Jersey in the Republican primary. He positioned himself as a staunch supporter of outgoing president Donald Trump.[23] However, he withdrew from the race on January 11, 2021, shortly after the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.[24]

New Jersey Senate

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In September 2022, following the announcement that longtime state senator Michael J. Doherty would retire to seek the Warren County Surrogate's Office, Steinhardt announced that he would run in a special election convention for Doherty's vacated senate seat representing the 23rd legislative district.[25]

Steinhardt was elected to the seat unopposed on December 10, 2022, at a special convention.[26] He was sworn into office on December 19, 2022.[2] He was re-elected in 2023.

Electoral history

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23rd Legislative District Senate General Election, 2023[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Douglas Steinhardt (incumbent) 31,066 57.7
Democratic Denise King 22,790 42.3
Total votes 53,856 100.0
Republican hold

Committees

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Steinhardt's committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[28]

  • Budget and Appropriations
  • Labor

District 23

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Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[29] The representatives from the 23rd District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[30]

Youth organization and non-profit causes

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As a youth, Steinhardt earned the Eagle Scout award. He was on the Board of Directors of the Central New Jersey Council of the Boy Scouts of America as of 2011.[31] In January 2017 Steinhardt co-founded and co-chairs the Warren County Addiction Awareness Task Force to address the spiraling heroin and opioid epidemics.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Steinhardt, Douglas Joseph".
  2. ^ a b "Steinhardt Sworn-in as State Senator for New Jersey’s 23rd Legislative District", Insider NJ, December 19, 2022. Accessed December 19, 2022. "Douglas J. Steinhardt has taken the oath of office to become the new state senator for New Jersey’s 23rd Legislative District.... Steinhardt, a resident and former five-time mayor of Lopatcong Township, was sworn-in during a session of the New Jersey Senate on December 19, 2022. Senator Steinhardt was selected to fill the remainder of former Senator Mike Doherty’s term."
  3. ^ a b "Doug Steinhardt". ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Douglas J. Steinhardt". Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli LLC. Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli LLC. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  5. ^ Buffer, Michaek (September 6, 2005). "Lopat mayor's law job raises eyebrows but not objections". The Express Times.
  6. ^ "Warren County 2015 Hall of Fame inductees announced - lehighvalleylive.com". 2 August 2015.
  7. ^ "County of Warren, NJ - All about Warren County...Institutions of Learning". Archived from the original on 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  8. ^ Rose, Christian (January 6, 2000). "Steinhardt takes office in Lopatcong". The Express Times.
  9. ^ Rose, Christian (October 20, 1999). "Lopat hopefuls tout ideas -- The township mayor stresses service, the challenger extols a fresh outlook". The Express Times.
  10. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-11-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ a b Danzis, David. "Steinhardt to lead NJGOP during 'tumultuous times'". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-11-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-11-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ http://www.co.warren.nj.us/Elections/includings/2011_General_Official.pdf. Archived 2017-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-11-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ Bortz, Greg (February 1, 2004). "Lopatcong mayor wins fight for GOP seat". The Express Times.
  17. ^ Blok, Katherine (June 20, 2004). "GOP boss gets credit for unity Warren's party chairman re-elected for full term". The Express Times.
  18. ^ Molnar, Phillip (June 16, 2012). "Douglas Steinhardt re-elected head of Warren County GOP, despite opposition". The Express-Times. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  19. ^ "Steinhardt to Lead State GOP - Insider NJ". 9 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Guadagno's pick for GOP chair pulled after Christie names his wife to parole board - nj.com". 14 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Steinhardt Out as State GOP Chairman; Mike Lavery In - Insider NJ". 13 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Steinhardt Wins Unanimous Support to Lead the NJGOP - Insider NJ". 21 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Doug Steinhardt will run for governor against Phil Murphy - New Jersey Globe". 10 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Capitol insurrection may have claimed its first GOP candidacy - POLITICO". Politico.
  25. ^ Wildstein, David. "Steinhardt locks up key endorsements to secure State Senate seat", New Jersey Globe, September 1, 2022. Accessed September 29, 2022. "Former GOP State Chairman Doug Steinhardt appears to have lined up enough support to win the 23rd district State Senate seat after receiving endorsements from key Republican officials, including the man he wants to succeed, State Senator Michael Doherty (R-Oxford)."
  26. ^ "Steinhardt wins Senate seat by acclamation". 10 December 2022.
  27. ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  28. ^ Senator Douglas J. Steinhardt (R), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
  29. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  30. ^ Legislative Roster for District 23, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 23, 2024.
  31. ^ "Doug Steinhardt is honorary chair of Warren County Community College comedy event fundraiser - nj.com". 2 March 2011.
Political offices
Preceded by
William Baker
 Mayor of Lopatcong
2000–2015 		Succeeded by
Tom McKay
Party political offices
Preceded by
Michael Lavery
 Chair of the New Jersey Republican Party
2017–2020 		Succeeded by
Michael Lavrey
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