Joseph Vitale

Joseph Vitale

Democratic Party

New Jersey State Senate District 19

Tenure

1998 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

27

Compensation

Base salary

$49,000/year

Per diem

$No per diem is paid

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 7, 2023

Education

High school

John F. Kennedy High School

Personal

Religion

Christian: Presbyterian

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Joseph Vitale (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Jersey State Senate, representing District 19. He assumed office in 1998. His current term ends on January 11, 2028.

Vitale (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Jersey State Senate to represent District 19. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Vitale graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. His professional experience includes serving as president of Vitale Sign Corporation.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Vitale was assigned to the following committees:

• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, Chair
• Transportation Committee, Vice Chair

2020-2021

Vitale was assigned to the following committees:

• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, Chair
• Transportation Committee, Vice-chair

2019-2020

Vitale was assigned to the following committees:

• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, Chair
• Transportation Committee, Vice-Chair

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Vitale served on the following committees:

New Jersey committee assignments, 2015
• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens, Chair
• Labor, Vice-Chair

2014 legislative session

In the 2014 legislative session, Vitale served on the following committees:

New Jersey committee assignments, 2014
• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens, Chair
• Labor, Vice-Chair

2010-2011

In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Vitale served on the following committees:

New Jersey committee assignments, 2010
• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens, Chair
• Budget and Appropriations
• Budget and Appropriations (Budget Hearings Only)

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2023

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2023

General election

General election for New Jersey State Senate District 19

Incumbent Joseph Vitale defeated Maria Garcia in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Vitale (D)	63.2	19,571
	Submit photo	Maria Garcia (R)	36.8	11,392

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,963
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19

Incumbent Joseph Vitale defeated Michelle Burwell in the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Vitale	85.9	7,801
		Michelle Burwell	14.1	1,281

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,082
= 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 State Senate District 19

Maria Garcia advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Maria Garcia	100.0	2,450

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,450
= 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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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vitale in this election.

2021

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021

General election

General election for New Jersey State Senate District 19

Incumbent Joseph Vitale defeated Pedro Pisar in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Vitale (D)	59.9	27,767
	Submit photo	Pedro Pisar (R)	40.1	18,585

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,352
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christian Onuoha (R)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19

Incumbent Joseph Vitale advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Vitale	100.0	7,906

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,906
= 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 State Senate District 19

Christian Onuoha advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 19 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christian Onuoha	100.0	3,271

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,271
= 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.

2017

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2017

General election

Elections for the New Jersey State Senate took place in 2017. All 40 seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for the primary election was April 3, 2017. Incumbent Joseph Vitale (D) ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 19 general election.

New Jersey State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joseph Vitale Incumbent (unopposed)	100.00%	27,681
Total Votes				27,681
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Democratic primary election

Incumbent Joseph Vitale ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 19 Democratic primary election.

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.

New Jersey State Senate, District 19 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate
Joseph Vitale Incumbent
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Republican primary election

Arthur Rittenhouse ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 19 Republican primary election.

Ballotpedia will publish vote totals here after they become available.

New Jersey State Senate, District 19 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate
Arthur Rittenhouse
Source: New Jersey Department of State

2013

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013

Vitale won re-election in the 2013 election for New Jersey State Senate District 19. Vitale was unopposed in the June 4 Democratic primary and defeated Robert Luban (R) in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.

New Jersey State Senate, District 19 General Election, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joseph Vitale Incumbent	62.6%	24,126
	Republican	Robert Luban	37.4%	14,439
Total Votes				38,565

Endorsements

In 2013, Vitale’s endorsements included the following:

• New Jersey State AFL-CIO
• The Sierra Club

2011

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011

Vitale won re-election to the District 18 State Senate seat. He ran unopposed in the June 7 Democratic primary election. Vitale defeated Republican candidate Paul Lund in the general election, which took place on November 8, 2011.

New Jersey State Senate District 19 General Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joseph Vitale Incumbent	66.9%	18,623
	Republican	Paul Lund	33.1%	9,232
Total Votes				27,855

Endorsements

In 2011, Vitale's endorsements included the following:

• New Jersey State AFL-CIO

2007

See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007

In 2007, Vitale was re-elected to the New Jersey State Senate District 19. Vitale (D) finished with 18,864 votes and was followed by Donald Nelson (R) with 9,557 votes. Vitale raised $357,200 for his campaign fund.

New Jersey Senate 2007 General Election, District 19 (2007)
Candidates		Votes
Joseph Vitale (D)		18,864
Donald Nelson (R)		9,557

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseph Vitale did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Joseph Vitale did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Vitale's personal website highlighted the following issues:

“	Increasing Access to Affordable Healthcare As the chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, Senator Vitale has been a leader in New Jersey for progressive and forward thinking health care policies. From fighting for expansions in FamilyCare to passing legislation that protects New Jerseyans from discrimination in coverage, Senator Vitale is fighting every day to make sure that the people of New Jersey have access to quality, affordable health care services. Expanding Civil Rights During his time in the Senate, Joe has fought to end all forms of discrimination in New Jersey. Some of his work in fighting for civil rights includes revisions in the New Jersey Hate Crime Laws to further protect victims of bias intimidation, and restoring the basic right of victims of child abuse to hold their abuser accountable. Preserving Government Ethics Senator Vitale is working towards a transparent government that is efficient and held accountable to the people. In this vein, he has worked on several bills that deter corruption and unfair granting of contracts to groups that donate to political causes. Our Children's Future Senator Vitale has worked to improve access to early childhood education in the state of New Jersey, recognizing the importance of investing in children from a young age and supporting pre-K for all. In addition, he championed a statewide tuition waiver program for children who have been under the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, which helps to assure that all children, regardless of their background have the same opportunities to achieve their dreams. Jobs As the Vice Chair of the Senate Labor Committee, Senator Vitale understands the importance of a competitive environment that brings good-paying jobs to New Jersey. He has consistently supported raising the minimum wage, and has fought to ensure workers have access to the critical benefits they deserve. Senator Vitale has worked to develop and professionalize the healthcare workforce and to support the development of career ladders.	”
—Joseph Vitale

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Joseph Vitale campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2023	New Jersey State Senate District 19	Won general	$326,750	$0
2021	New Jersey State Senate District 19	Won general	$306,448	$0
2017	New Jersey State Senate District 19	Won general	$526,181	N/A**
2013	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$338,012	N/A**
2011	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$429,367	N/A**
2007	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$633,876	N/A**
2003	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$185,182	N/A**
2001	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$217,270	N/A**
1997	New Jersey State Senate, District 19	Won	$128,574	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in New Jersey

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of New Jersey scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].
In 2024, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9 to December 19.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 10 to January 8. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 11 to December 31.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 4 to January 11. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Jersey Clean Water Action Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 14 to December 17. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Jersey Clean Water Action Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9, 2018, through January 14, 2020. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. New Jersey Clean Water Action Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. Vietnam Veterans of America New Jersey State Council Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9 through January 8, 2019. Americans for Prosperity Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. New Jersey Clean Water Action Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Vietnam Veterans of America New Jersey State Council Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 through January 9, 2018. American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil liberties. New Jersey Clean Water Action Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. Vietnam Veterans of America New Jersey State Council Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].
In 2016, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 12 through January 10, 2017. Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].

In 2015, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 13 through December 31. ACLU-NJ: 2014-2015 Scorecard Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties. Clean Water Action: Legislative Scorecard 2014-2015 Legislators are scored on environment and conservation issues. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters: 2015 Legislative Environmental Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes concerning environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 14 through January 12, 2015. ACLU-NJ: 2014-2015 Scorecard Legislators are scored based on their voting record for bills relating to civil liberties. Americans for Prosperity: 2014 Midterm Legislator Ratings Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation. Clean Water Action: Legislative Scorecard 2014-2015 Legislators are scored on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union: 2014 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].

In 2013, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 13, 2014. Americans for Prosperity: Taxpayer Scorecard, 215th Legislative Session Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation. Clean Water Action: Legislative Scorecard 2010-2013 Legislators are scored on environment and conservation issues. New Jersey League of Conservation Voters: 2013 Legislative Environmental Scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes concerning environmental issues. New Jersey Taxpayers Alliance: 2013 Taxpayer Legislative Scorecards Legislators are scored on their votes concerning New Jersey’s individual and corporate taxpayer communities. Assembly scorecard Senate scorecard The American Conservative Union: 2013 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2012

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show].

In 2012, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 9, 2013. Americans for Prosperity: Taxpayer Scorecard, 215th Legislative Session Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation. Clean Water Action: Legislative Scorecard 2010-2013 Legislators are scored on environment and conservation issues. The American Conservative Union: 2012 Legislative scorecard Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Vitale and his wife, Robin, currently reside in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Vitale was the chairman of the Woodbridge Township Democratic Party from 1992 to 1997.

See also

2023 Elections

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Officeholder

New Jersey State Senate District 19

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	New Jersey State Senate District 19 1998-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the New Jersey State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Nicholas Scutari

Majority Leader:Teresa Ruiz

Minority Leader:Anthony Bucco

Senators

District 1

Mike Testa (R)

District 2

Vincent Polistina (R)

District 3

John Burzichelli (D)

District 4

Paul Moriarty (D)

District 5

Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)

District 6

James Beach (D)

District 7

Troy Singleton (D)

District 8

Latham Tiver (R)

District 9

Carmen Amato (R)

District 10

James Holzapfel (R)

District 11

Vin Gopal (D)

District 12

Owen Henry (R)

District 13

Declan O'Scanlon (R)

District 14

Linda Greenstein (D)

District 15

Shirley Turner (D)

District 16

Andrew Zwicker (D)

District 17

Bob Smith (D)

District 18

Patrick Diegnan (D)

District 19

Joseph Vitale (D)

District 20

Joseph Cryan (D)

District 21

Jon Bramnick (R)

District 22

Nicholas Scutari (D)

District 23

Doug Steinhardt (R)

District 24

Parker Space (R)

District 25

Anthony Bucco (R)

District 26

Joseph Pennacchio (R)

District 27

John McKeon (D)

District 28

Renee Burgess (D)

District 29

Teresa Ruiz (D)

District 30

Robert Singer (R)

District 31

Angela McKnight (D)

District 32

Raj Mukherji (D)

District 33

Brian Stack (D)

District 34

Britnee Timberlake (D)

District 35

Benjie Wimberly (D)

District 36

Paul Sarlo (D)

District 37

Gordon Johnson (D)

District 38

Joseph Lagana (D)

District 39

Holly Schepisi (R)

District 40

Kristin Corrado (R)

Democratic Party (25)

Republican Party (15)