In the fiercely contested 11th district, Monmouth County Republicans seem to have decided on Andrew Wardell, a former mayor of Neptune City, and Jessica Ford to challenge first-term Assemblywomen Luanne Peterpaul (D-Long Branch) and Margie Donlon (D-Ocean).
Gopal won the 11th legislative district, which is located in Monmouth, by 21 points in 2023, and Kamala Harris won it by four points in 2024. Gopal won his second term in the Senate by almost four points in 2021, while Republican Jack Ciattarelli won the 11th by two points.
In 2023, Peterpaul and Donlon defeated incumbent Republicans Kim Eulner (R-Shrewsbury) and Marilyn Piperno (R-Colts Neck), who had served one term, by a margin of more over 7,000 votes. In 2021, the two had narrowly defeated two Democratic lawmakers: Eric Houghtaling ended 781 votes behind Piperno and 781 votes behind Eulner, while Eulner ran 347 votes ahead of Joann Downey (D-Freehold).
In 2023, Wardell lost his reelection campaign by 17 votes to Democrat Rachel McGreevy, who was helped by State Sen. Vin Gopal’s (D-Long Branch) overwhelming victory.
Ford is running for government for the second time; last year, she was defeated by 3,722 votes in her attempt for the Neptune Township Committee. In 2019, Wardell won the mayoralty by a margin of 13 points.
Allenhurst, Bradley Beach, Colts Neck, Deal, Eatontown, Fair Haven, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Ocean Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, Tinton Falls, and Asbury Park are all included in the eleventh district.
