Deana Lykins

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Deana Lykins

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2019

Deana Lykins (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 24. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2019.

Lykins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2019

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 (2 seats)

Incumbent Parker Space and incumbent Harold Wirths defeated Deana Lykins and Dan Soloman Smith in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Parker Space (R)	34.6	30,867
✔		Harold Wirths (R)	33.0	29,424
		Deana Lykins (D)	17.0	15,113
		Dan Soloman Smith (D)	15.4	13,684

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 89,088
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 (2 seats)

Deana Lykins and Dan Soloman Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Deana Lykins	52.1	3,691
✔		Dan Soloman Smith	47.9	3,392

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,083
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 (2 seats)

Incumbent Parker Space and incumbent Harold Wirths advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 24 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Parker Space	51.4	12,998
✔		Harold Wirths	48.6	12,270

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,268
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Deana Lykins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lykins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

What would be your top three priorities, if elected?

1. Lower Taxes / Spend Tax Money Locally

2. Job Growth

3. Environmental Protection, Access,

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economic Development and Education - These two areas are the most important areas that determine the overall health of a region. People need good paying jobs. Employers and potential employees look to the strength of school systems to determine where to locate.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Eleanor Roosevelt: She knew her voice and used it for good. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

The General Assembly is much larger than the Senate so obtaining a consensus in the Assembly can be harder. The experience level of the Assembly is much lower which also brings its own challenges. Also the Assembly members have to run for office every two years instead of the four-year Senate term which makes Assembly members more sensitive to political pressures.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I do believe it is beneficial. Government and policy-making can be a frustrating process due to bureaucratic hurdles. Understanding the process can be helpful to facilitate the accomplishment of goals.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Taxes, debt service, jobs, infrastructure, environment.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and the state legislature?

They are separate branches of government for a reason. While the Governor represents the whole state, a legislator represents a particular region. So the interests will not always be the same or aligned.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

I believe that legislation requires coalition building but that you also need to be able to stand firm in your beliefs if it is a matter of great importance to your district.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I would like to be involved in business related committees. My district has many economic development needs and I would like to help bring needed resources back to the district.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No, I do not have a particular model but there are many who have found their own voice and been fighters for their district that I want to emulate.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No, I am not interested in running for another office.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

A woman in the district told me a story of how she had signed up for the community clean up day for her daughter's band. She explained that the township was giving out $275 to each organization that participated. She said the band hadn't signed up and so she had in order to pay for her daughter's tuition to band camp. I was struck that this woman was forced to clean up 3 miles of roadway to make ends meet.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2019 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

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External links

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Footnotes

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Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly

Leadership

Representatives

District 1

Antwan McClellan (R)

Erik Simonsen (R)

District 2

Don Guardian (R)

Claire Swift (R)

District 3

Dave Bailey (D)

Heather Simmons (D)

District 4

Dan Hutchison (D)

Cody Miller (D)

District 5

William Moen (D)

William Spearman (D)

District 6

Louis Greenwald (D)

Melinda Kane (D)

District 7

Carol Murphy (D)

Balvir Singh (D)

District 8

Andrea Katz (D)

Michael Torrissi (R)

District 9

Gregory Myhre (R)

Brian Rumpf (R)

District 10

Paul Kanitra (R)

Gregory McGuckin (R)

District 11

Margie Donlon (D)

Luanne Peterpaul (D)

District 12

Robert Clifton (R)

Alex Sauickie (R)

District 13

Victoria Flynn (R)

Gerard Scharfenberger (R)

District 14

Wayne DeAngelo (D)

Tennille McCoy (D)

District 15

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)

Anthony Verrelli (D)

District 16

Mitchelle Drulis (D)

Roy Freiman (D)

District 17

Joseph Danielsen (D)

Kevin Egan (D)

District 18

Robert Karabinchak (D)

Sterley Stanley (D)

District 19

Craig Coughlin (D)

Yvonne Lopez (D)

District 20

Reginald Atkins (D)

Annette Quijano (D)

District 21

Michele Matsikoudis (R)

Nancy Muñoz (R)

District 22

Linda Carter (D)

James Kennedy (D)

District 23

John DiMaio (R)

Erik Peterson (R)

District 24

Dawn Fantasia (R)

Michael Inganamort (R)

District 25

Christian Barranco (R)

Aura Dunn (R)

District 26

Brian Bergen (R)

Jay Webber (R)

District 27

Rosy Bagolie (D)

Alixon Collazos-Gill (D)

District 28

Garnet Hall (D)

Cleopatra Tucker (D)

District 29

Eliana Marin (D)

Shanique Speight (D)

District 30

Sean Kean (R)

Avi Schnall (D)

District 31

William Sampson (D)

Barbara Stamato (D)

District 32

John Allen (D)

Jessica Ramirez (D)

District 33

Julio Marenco (D)

Gabriel Rodriguez (D)

District 34

Carmen Morales (D)

Michael Venezia (D)

District 35

Alaa Abdelaziz (D)

Shavonda Sumter (D)

District 36

Clinton Calabrese (D)

Gary Schaer (D)

District 37

Shama Haider (D)

Ellen Park (D)

District 38

Lisa Swain (D)

Chris Tully (D)

District 39

Robert Auth (R)

John Azzariti (R)

District 40

Al Barlas (R)

Christopher DePhillips (R)

Democratic Party (52)

Republican Party (28)