Michael Patrick Carroll (born April 8, 1958) is an American Republican Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He represented the 25th Legislative 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 1996 to 2020. Carroll did not run for re-election in 2019; instead, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for Morris County Surrogate.

Early life

Carroll was born in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

, on April 8, 1958, the son of Maurice C. and Margaret W. Carroll. Carroll moved with his family to

Morris Township, New Jersey Morris Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,974, an increase of 668 (+3.0%) from the 201 ...

in 1960. Carroll graduated from

Delbarton School Delbarton School is a private, all-male Catholic college-preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey, serving seventh through twelfth grades. It is independently directed by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown and is locat ...

in 1976, earned 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 ...

in Social and Behavioral Sciences from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

in 1980, and received a J.D. from

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

in 1983.Assemblyman Carroll'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 January 31. 2018. Carroll founded the Morris County Young Republicans, chairing the group for four years. He was first elected to the Morris County Republican Committee for Morris Township in 1980. In 1984, after moving to Morristown, he was elected to the Republican County Committee there, serving as chairman for one term. Returning to Morris Township, he was once again elected to the Republican County Committee.

New Jersey Assembly

Carroll first ran for the Assembly in 1993; he lost that election by fewer than 422 votes to incumbent Assemblyman Arthur R. Albohn (then-Assemblyman

Rodney Frelinghuysen Rodney Procter Frelinghuysen (born April 29, 1946) is an American former politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2019. The district includes most of Morris County, an affluent suburban county west of New ...

received the most votes in the primary). In 1995, Carroll and Anthony Bucco, who was appointed to the Assembly after Frelinghuysen's election to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, prevailed in a Republican primary against Rick Merkt,

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) ...

, and two others in the 25th Legislative District; Carroll and Bucco went on to victory in the fall. Carroll proposed a bill to mandate the reading, in school each morning, of a section of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. The April 2003 issue of ''

New Jersey Monthly ''New Jersey Monthly'' is an American monthly magazine featuring issues of possible interest to residents of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United St ...

'' magazine cited Carroll as the "Most Conservative" member of the New Jersey Legislature. The magazine cited Carroll's "...missionary zeal and his talent for articulating his stances on behalf of individual and property rights, the sanctity of family—including unborn children—and the cult of Reaganism..." in elaborating on their choice. Carroll "has long been known in state political circles as one of the most socially conservative, and outspoken, members of the legislature". In 2008, "a comment that Carroll made about slavery" made "national headlines. At the time, the New Jersey legislature was weighing whether the state should issue an official apology for slavery. Carroll opposed the measure, and said that African-Americans should actually be grateful for slavery, because it was the means by which they eventually gained American citizenship". In November 2010, the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" passed both houses of the state legislature. Carroll was the only legislator to vote "no"; he objected "to the fact that it explicitly mentions categories of students subject to bullying".

Morris County Surrogate

Carroll did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 2019, choosing instead to run for Morris County Surrogate. He was defeated in the Republican primary for Surrogate by Morris County Freeholder Heather Darling.

Committees

*Higher Education *Judiciary *State and Local Government *Joint Committee on Housing and Affordability

Personal life

In 1983, Carroll married Sharon, née Anderson, whom he met when the two of them worked together at

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

. The couple has six children: Sean Michael, James Patrick, Brian Christopher, Jane Eleanor, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Edward Lee.Michael Patrick Carroll biography
. Accessed August 17, 2007.

Electoral history

New Jersey Assembly

References

External links

Assemblyman Carroll's legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004Assemblyman Carroll's Campaign WebsiteAssembly Member Michael Patrick Carroll

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 ...

New Jersey Voter Information Website 2003Rep. Scott Garrett BiographyThe Federalist SocietyMorris County Republican Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Michael Patrick 1958 births Living people Delbarton School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Lawyers from Morris County, New Jersey Politicians from Fayetteville, North Carolina Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey People from Morris Township, New Jersey Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature