Michael L. Testa Jr. (born May 1, 1976) is an American Republican Party politician who represents the 1st Legislative District in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

. Testa was elected to the state senate on November 5, 2019 in the special election to fill the remaining 14 months of the unfinished term of

Jeff Van Drew Jefferson H. Van Drew (born February 23, 1953) is an American politician and dentist serving as the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 2nd congressional district since 2019. Formerly a Democrat, he has been a member of the Republican Party si ...

, who won a seat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

in 2018. Testa was sworn into office on December 5, 2019.

Early life

His father is an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan area ...

and his mother is a

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

who was born to parents who had met each other in a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

Early career

Testa was elected as chairman of the

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Cumberland, historic county *Cumberl ...

GOP in 2014, after serving as vice chairman for three years. From 2006 to 2008, Testa was a member of the Vineland Downtown Improvement District/Main Street Vineland. Testa was formerly a chairman of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cumberland and Salem Counties, and board president of Vineland Regional Dance.

New Jersey Senate

On November 5, 2018, 1st District State Senator

won a seat to the

, creating a vacancy for his state senate seat. On November 20, Testa announced he would run for the special election for the remainder of Van Drew's State Senate term. President Donald Trump recorded

robocall A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public service or emer ...

s for Testa in his state senate election, which were sent out on the day before election day.

Tenure

Testa was sworn into the Senate on December 5, 2019, by Senate President

Steve Sweeney Steve Sweeney may refer to: * Steve Sweeney (comedian) Steve Sweeney (born September 5, 1949) is an American comedian. Biography Sweeney was born in Charlestown, a section of Boston. His Boston accent and idiosyncratic mannerisms are featured ...

. After Rep.

switched to the Republican Party, Testa endorsed Van Drew.

Committee assignments

*Budget and Appropriations *Labor In October 2019, President Donald Trump named Testa, along with State Senate Minority Whip

Joseph Pennacchio Joseph Pennacchio (born May 27, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey Senate since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th Legislative District. Pennacchio has served in the Senate as the Dep ...

, as co-chairs for the president's re-election bid.

Personal life

Testa and his wife Julie, a former

Miss New Jersey The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant. Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America: Bette Cooper who won in 1 ...

, live in Vineland with their three children, Eva Marie, Sarah, and Tripp.

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Testa, Mike 1976 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party New Jersey state senators People from Vineland, New Jersey Politicians from Cumberland County, New Jersey Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Villanova University School of Law alumni