Jennifer Beck (born January 3, 1967) is an American Republican Party politician who served in the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

representing the 11th Legislative District from 2012 to 2018. Prior to redistricting, she served in the Senate from 2008 to 2012 representing the 12th Legislative District, serving portions of

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

and

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

counties. Beck represented the 12th District in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 2006 to 2008.

Political career

Beck is a former Republican Party fundraiser who served for six years on the Red Bank Borough Council, from 1999 to 2005. She holds a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

(Physics and Mathematics) and was awarded an M.A. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(Government Administration). Beck is also an alumna of the

Fels Institute of Government The Fels Institute of Government is the graduate school of public policy and public management at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Founded in 1937 by Samuel Simeon Fels of the Fels Naptha Soap Company, the Fels Institute prepares ...

at the University of Pennsylvania. Beck won a very close Assembly election on November 8, 2005. As of December 6, 2005, she was declared winner of one of the seats, and was the top vote getter in the District with 31,418 votes. Democratic freshman Assemblyman Michael J. Panter won re-election with 30,466 votes, narrowly edging Beck's running mate, Declan O'Scanlon, who had 30,401 votes, just 65 fewer than Panter. One-term incumbent

Robert Lewis Morgan Robert Lewis Morgan (born January 5, 1952) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly for one term from 2004 to 2006, where he represented the New Jersey's 12th legisl ...

lost his bid for re-election, coming in fourth with 30,228 votes. Two

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidates each received about 2,000 votes. While in the Assembly, Beck served on the Judiciary Committee, the State Government Committee and the Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee.Assemblywoman Beck's legislative web page

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Accessed February 21, 2008. In the 2007 general election, Beck won her bid for a seat in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

in a race against incumbent Democrat

Ellen Karcher Ellen Karcher (born February 28, 1964) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 2004 until 2008, where she represented the 12th Legislative District. Karcher graduated magna cum laude with a B.A ...

, in which Beck was outspent by a nearly seven-to-one margin.Beck wins; Dems control both houses
''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...

'', November 6, 2007. Accessed November 6, 2007. For the 2011 elections, Beck was moved into the 11th District where she beat Democrat Raymond Santiago by over 13 points. She was subsequently reelected by over 21 points in 2013 beating Democrat Michael Brantley and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Marie E. Amato-Juckiewicz. Beck served on the Joint Committee on Economic Justice and Equal Employment Opportunity, the Budget and Appropriations Committee, and the Community and Urban Affairs Committee. In November 2008, a petition was launched to urge the 2009 Republican nominee for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

to select Beck as his/her

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Nevertheless, on July 20, 2009, nominee

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

announced that he had chosen Kimberly Guadagno,

Monmouth County Monmouth County () is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by ...

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, to complete his campaign ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. Described by

NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...

as "perhaps the biggest upset of the night", Beck lost her bid for re-election in 2017 to Democratic challenger

Vin Gopal Vin Gopal (born May 18, 1985) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who took office on January 9, 2018, to represent the New Jersey's 11th legislative district, 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, ...

, in what was the third-most expensive of the 120 legislative races statewide, with total spending in excess of $4 million. The district had been represented only by Republicans since 1992. With the addition of heavily Democratic communities like

Asbury Park Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a dec ...

in the 2011 apportionment, Democrats gained a 32%-23% margin over Republicans in numbers of registered voters. Democrats

Joann Downey Joann Kagan Downey (born October 31, 1966) is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician who represented the 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2016 to 2022. She later became a judge. Early life Downey w ...

and

Eric Houghtaling Eric Houghtaling (born September 5, 1954) is an American Democratic politician who represented the 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2016 to 2022, which covers portions of Monmouth County. Prior to his election t ...

won the two Assembly seats in 2015 and Gopal's win over Beck by an Election Day count of 28,750 votes to 25,108 put all three District 11 seats in the hands of Democrats.Napoliello, Alex
"Vin Gopal upsets incumbent Jennifer Beck in hotly contested Dist. 11 race"
NJ Advance media for

, November 7, 2017. Accessed November 9, 2017. "According to unofficial results from the Monmouth County Clerk's Office, Gopal defeated Beck 28,750 votes to 25,108 votes.... This Shore district was once completely controlled by Republican lawmakers, but it saw a shift two years ago when Democrats picked up both its Assembly seats. And in redistricting, District 11 picked up Democratic towns such as Asbury Park. Democrats outnumber Republicans 32 percent to 23 percent in the district."

Election history

References

External links

Senator Jennifer Beck's Official WebsiteSenator Jennifer Beck's Official Senate Site12th Legislative District Official SiteSenator Beck's legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005Jennifer Beck

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Jennifer 1967 births Boston College alumni Fels Institute of Government alumni Living people New Jersey city council members Republican Party New Jersey state senators Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Politicians from Red Bank, New Jersey Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey Women city councillors in New Jersey Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature