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Vincent Polistina
2022 - Present
2028
3
Vincent Polistina (Republican Party) is a member of the New Jersey State Senate, representing District 2. He assumed office on January 11, 2022. His current term ends on January 11, 2028.
Polistina (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the New Jersey State Senate to represent District 2. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Polistina is a former member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 2 from 2008 to 2012.
Polistina also previously served as a member of the Atlantic County Republican Campaign Committee and as chair of the Atlantic County Republican Finance Committee.
Biography
Vincent Polistina lives in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Polistina earned a B.S. in bioenvironmental engineering from Rutgers University. Polistina's career experience includes founding and working as an engineer with Polistina & Associates.[1][2]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes yearly updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org
2023-2024
Polistina was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Higher Education Committee
- State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee
- Health and Senior Services Committee, New Jersey General Assembly
- Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee
Sponsored legislation
- A2014 Establishes Vacancy Review Board in the Department of Personnel to review continued need for positions in Executive Branch that become vacant.
- A3780 Reduces compensation afforded members of Legislature by 20%.
- ACR223 Proposes amendment to State Constitution to limit General Assembly members to five successive terms and Senate members to three successive terms.[3]
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 2
Incumbent Vincent Polistina defeated Caren Fitzpatrick and Shawn Peck in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Vincent Polistina (R) | 52.2 | 24,516 |
 | Caren Fitzpatrick (D) | 44.8 | 21,045 | |
 | Shawn Peck (L)  | 3.0 | 1,415 | |
| Total votes: 46,976 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Victor Carmona (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2
Victor Carmona advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Victor Carmona | 100.0 | 7,391 | |
| Total votes: 7,391 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2
Incumbent Vincent Polistina advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vincent Polistina | 100.0 | 6,205 |
| Total votes: 6,205 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Polistina in this election.
2021
See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021
General election
General election for New Jersey State Senate District 2
Vincent Polistina defeated Vincent Mazzeo in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vincent Polistina (R) | 51.9 | 31,488 |
 | Vincent Mazzeo (D) | 48.1 | 29,213 | |
| Total votes: 60,701 | |||
| = 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 State Senate District 2
Vincent Mazzeo advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vincent Mazzeo | 100.0 | 9,408 |
| Total votes: 9,408 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2
Vincent Polistina defeated Seth Grossman in the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 2 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vincent Polistina | 69.5 | 7,479 |
 | Seth Grossman | 30.5 | 3,277 | |
| Total votes: 10,756 | |||
| = 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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2011
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011
Polistina ran in the 2011 election for New Jersey Senate District 2. He ran unopposed in the primary on June 7, 2011. He was defeated by incumbent Jim Whelan (D) in the general election, which took place on November 8, 2011. Lorenzo Langford (I) was a candidate for the seat but withdrew on September 20.[4]
| New Jersey State Senate District 2 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Jim Whelan Incumbent |
53.4% | 24,075 | |
| Republican | Vincent Polistina | 46.6% | 20,997 | |
| Total Votes | 45,072 | |||
2009
Running for re-election in the November 3, 2009, general election, Polistina received 30,563 votes (30%), defeating Democrat challengers Reginald Floyd and Jimmy Martinez. He was bracketed with John Amodeo (R).[5] [6]
| New Jersey General Assembly General Election, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John F. Amodeo Incumbent |
30.3% | 33,787 | |
| Republican | Vincent J. Pollstina Incumbent |
29.6% | 32,981 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Martinez | 20.1% | 22,430 | |
| Democratic | Reginald Floyd | 20% | 22,316 | |
| Total Votes | 111,514 | |||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Vincent Polistina did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Vincent Polistina did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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.
Noteworthy events
Selection and swearing-in as District 2 state Senator, 2021
On August 4, 2021, the Atlantic County Republican Committee selected Polistina to fill the vacant District 2 seat in the state Senate, replacing Chris Brown (R). Senate President Steve Sweeney (D), who would traditionally administer the oath of office, had gaveled the chamber out of session in late June until November.[7] According to WPG Talk Radio, Polistina was sworn in by retired superior court judge Joseph E. Kane on August 23, 2021.[8] According to the New Jersey Globe, a Senate Majority Office official said Polistina's swearing-in was “not official until he’s sworn in at a quorum."[9] The executive director of the nonpartisan New Jersey Office of Legislative Services, Peri A. Horowitz, said, “Mr. Polistina is not a member of the Legislature at this time. OLS considers Mr. Polistina to be a senator-select, pending receipt of confirmation from the Senate that he has been sworn-in and his election and qualifications have been judged acceptable by the members of the house."[10] According to Politico, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. and state Sen. Joe Pennacchio said the swearing-in session was legitimate.[11]
Scorecards
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.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
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]. |
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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]. |
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In 2023, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 10 to January 8.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 11 to December 31. |
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Vince Polistina for Senate, "Meet Vince," accessed December 11, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Vincent J. Polistina (R)," accessed December 11, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey State Legislature, "Bills Sponsored by Senators and Representatives," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2011 Official State Senate Primary Candidate List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "General Election Results, November 4, 2009," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official 2009 New Jersey Assembly General Election Results," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Sweeney keeping Chris Brown’s replacement in legislative limbo," August 10, 2021
- ↑ WPG Talk Radio, "Atlantic County Senator Vince Polistina Has Been Officially Sworn-in," accessed August 31, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Polistina takes oath as state senator, but Democrats say it’s ‘not official’," August 25, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Polistina is not a senator, OLS says," August 26, 2021
- ↑ Politico, "Polistina’s swearing-in drama," August 26, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chris Brown (R) |
New Jersey State Senate District 2 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
New Jersey General Assembly District 2 2008-2012 |
Succeeded by - |
