Vin Gopal

Vin Gopal (born May 18, 1985) is an American Democratic politician who took office on January 9, 2018, to represent the 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, which covers portions of Monmouth County. Gopal serves as Chairman of the influential Senate Education Committee and as Senate Majority Whip.

Early life

Vin Gopal was born in Neptune Township to Indian Malayali parents from Kerala, India. His parents came to the United States in the early 1970s and settled in New Jersey. He grew up in Freehold Township. He graduated in 2003 from Ranney School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Gopal holds a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree from Rutgers University. Gopal is a successful entrepreneur, having built up and sold various small-businesses. He is also a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers #400 in Wall Township He is a resident of Long Branch. While in high school and college, Senator Gopal served as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician and First Responder and Certified First Aid Instructor for the Colts Neck Township and Freehold Township First Aid Squads. Gopal served on the Board of Trustees of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Monmouth County from 2010 to 2012. Gopal previously served on the board of directors of the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, now called the Monmouth County Chamber of Commerce, from 2009 to 2012. From 2010 to 2013, Gopal served as President of the Hazlet Business Owners Association. Gopal is also President of the Vin Gopal Civic Association, a 501c3 organization, which helps local families and charities in need.

Monmouth County Democratic Party

In his 20s, Gopal ran for Chairman of the Monmouth County Democratic Organization. He was elected Chairman with 73% of the vote. As Chairman, Gopal led the 2015 campaign for General Assembly, where he helped oust Republican incumbents Caroline Casagrande and Mary Pat Angelini by newcomers Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey, in what was widely considered a major upset. As Chairman, Gopal was featured in PolitickerNJ.com's 100 Most Powerful people in New Jersey Politics in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, Gopal resigned the Chairmanship, announcing his intention to run for Senate in the 11th Legislative District against Republican incumbent Jennifer Beck. Gopal ran alongside first-term Democratic incumbents Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey.

New Jersey Senate

In November 2017, Gopal was elected to the State Senate. Gopal is the first Indian-American to be elected to New Jersey's State Senate, and his victory was described by NJ.com as "perhaps the biggest upset of the night." Gopal won by 4,158 votes – dramatically outperforming Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Phil Murphy. Gopal won numerous towns which Murphy lost, including Eatontown and Ocean Township. On January 9, 2018, shortly after his swearing-in, Gopal was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee as well as a member of the Economic Growth Committee and Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. He is currently the youngest member of the New Jersey State Senate. On April 4, 2018, Gopal was named Senate Majority Conference Leader and Chairman of the Bipartisan Legislative Manufacturing Caucus. Gopal took both positions from Senator Robert M. Gordon, who resigned to accept a position with the BPU. On January 1 of 2019, Gopal was appointed Chairman of the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

In the 2021 elections, Republicans outperformed expectations statewide, with Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli winning 2,500 more votes than incumbent Governor Phil Murphy in the 11th district and both Houghtaling and Downey losing re-election. Gopal nevertheless was narrowly re-elected as Senator by a margin of approximately 2,600 votes, running more than 5,000 votes ahead of Murphy; he was the only Democratic state legislator to win in a district carried by Ciattarelli. As a result of Houghtaling and Downey's losses, he was also left as the only Democrat representing Monmouth County in the state legislature.

In the 2023 elections, Gopal won by 21 percentage points against Republican Steve Dnistrian, outperforming expectations in what was forecasted to be a competitive race. Gopal's Democratic running mates for seats in the General Assembly, Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, defeated Republican incumbents Marilyn Piperno and Kimberly Eulner by smaller margins. "But when results actually started coming in, it was clear that Gopal had been dramatically underestimated. The two-term Democrat beat Dnistrian by nearly 12,000 votes, 33,558 to 21,866 – an astonishing 60%-39% margin. (Those numbers remain unofficial for now, with provisional ballots still to be counted.)... Gopal’s victory was easily enough to get his two running mates, Assemblywomen-elect Margie Donlon (D-Ocean Township) and Luanne Peterpaul (D-Long Branch), elected against incumbent Republicans Marilyn Piperno (R-Colts Neck) and Kim Eulner (R-Shrewsbury).... Donlon and Peterpaul currently have a combined 56.5% of the vote, an extremely robust total against two incumbents." Gopal's margin was so massive, based on town by town results, he won chunks of Republican votes in each town. For example, the small community of Deal which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2020, voted for Gopal overwhelmingly also.

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024-2025 session are:Senator Vin Gopal (D)
New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 22, 2024.
*Education (as chair)
*Judiciary

Legislative Accomplishments

Gopal has championed mental health funding for New Jersey, having helped deliver tens of millions of dollars in mental health funds for New Jersey Schools. He was also a key sponsor of the 988 Help Line, to assist those in crisis. As a result, Gopal was honored nationally for his work on mental health funding and breaking the stigma around mental health.

Gopal has been a long proponent and advocate for school district and government consolidation, arguing that New Jersey has too much government. He is pushing for mandated consolidation of government in order to try to lower property taxes.

Gopal championed the legislation to help with New Jersey's film tax credits which helped bring Netflix to New Jersey.

Gopal was a main sponsor of codifying a constitutional right to freedom of reproductive choice, making one of New Jersey one of the strongest women's healthcare protections states.

Gopal sponsored the law to ban smoking in New Jersey beaches.

Gopal sponsored the law to codify same-sex marriage in the statute.

Gopal is considered one of New Jersey's most pro-law enforcement legislators, having advanced various laws to support police officers and first responders in New Jersey. In 2023, he was the only state legislator from New Jersey to be endorsed by the National Association of Police Association.

District 11

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly. The representatives from the 11th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:
*Senator Vin Gopal (D)
*Assemblywoman Margie Donlon (D)
*Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul (D)

Electoral history

Senate

Assembly

Personal life

Gopal married to Christina Zuk in September 2019.New Jersey State Sen. Vin Gopal
LegiStorm. Accessed August 14, 2023. "Married: Christina Zuk, Sept. 8, 2019 in Marlboro, N.J."

See also

* Community journalism
* Indian Americans in New Jersey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gopal, Vin
1985 births
21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature
American politicians of Indian descent
Asian-American state legislators in New Jersey
Democratic Party New Jersey state senators
Living people
Pennsylvania State University alumni
People from Freehold Township, New Jersey
People from Neptune Township, New Jersey
Politicians from Long Branch, New Jersey
Ranney School alumni