Maplewood Voters Turn Out for Democrats
Huge margins from Maplewood for Harris, Kim, Sherrill
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. Wednesday morning was difficult for many of us when we woke up to the news that Kamala Harris was not going to be the 47th President of the United States. The Maplewood Democratic committee will continue the fight to ensure we have elected representatives who will stand for justice for all Americans. Maplewood was and will continue to be an engaged electorate as evidenced by the preliminary election results from the Essex County Clerk. Some 13,516 Maplewood voters cast their ballots in Tuesday’s General Election – the second-highest number ever recorded in a presidential election, with Maplewood’s vote totals contributing significantly to the victories of Andy Kim in the U.S. Senate and Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s re-election to Congress.
Maplewood showed the third-highest measure of support in Essex County for Kamala Harris for President and Andy Kim for Senate, with 90 percent and 89 percent of votes cast here going to these candidates, respectively. Only East Orange and Irvington outperformed Maplewood voters for these two candidates.
Additionally, Maplewood provided the highest measure of support for Sherrill of all towns in the 11th Congressional district, with 90 percent of voters casting their ballots for her. This is the second election in a row where Maplewood has had the highest percentage of support for Sherrill.
The previous all-time voter turnout in Maplewood occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when 15,214 votes were cast in the 2020 race between President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. However, that figure included a record 14,309 votes cast by mail. In 2016, 13,207 Maplewoodians voted in the matchup between Trump and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., but that race included just 978 votes by mail.
“This year’s numbers, although preliminary, bolster Maplewood’s standing as a bastion of Democratic power not only in Essex County but in the whole state of New Jersey,” said Maplewood Democratic Committee Chairman Ian Grodman.
The Maplewood Democratic Committee sent caravans of canvassers to Pennsylvania over the past two months, as well as held postcard-writing parties to reach voters in swing states, and canvass launches for both Kim and Sherrill. The MDC also co-sponsored two separate fundraisers for Harris’s presidential campaign. One event, called SOMALA, which was hosted by Township Committee-elect Malia Herman, Committeeman Dean Dafis and local moms Reshma Ketkar, Kerstin Diehn and Vanessa LoBue at Artie’s upstairs space, netted more than $16,000 for the Harris campaign.
The Maplewood Democratic Committee will continue our work here and in the greater community. Next year, we will be leading the fight to ensure that our next Governor is a Democrat. Be on the lookout for a meeting in January to learn how you can help. Local and state elections will now be more important than ever.