Joseph Howarth Jr. (born August 27,1955) is an American Republican Party politician who represented the 8th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since he was sworn into office on January 12,2016. Howarth lost re-election in the 2019 GOP primary. He left office on January 14,2020.
Howarth served on the Board of Education of the Evesham Township School District from 2003 to 2007 and on the Evesham Township Council from 2009 to 2011. He was elected to the Burlington CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders and was sworn into office on January 3,2012,as part of an all-Republican board.[3] Howarth chose not to run for re-election in 2014 after serving a single term as a freeholder in order to allow himself an opportunity to take care of personal health issues.[4]
In September 2017,after two-term incumbent Maria Rodriguez-Gregg decided against running for election after an incident earlier that year in which police thought that she was driving under the influence following a traffic accident,the Burlington County Republican Committee chose Burlington County Freeholder Ryan Peters to run for the Assembly seat as Howarth's running mate.[5]
In the November 2017 general election,Howarth (with 28,841;25.1% of all ballots cast) and Peters (with 28,671 votes;25.0%),defeated Democratic challengers Joanne Schwartz (28,321;24.7%) and Maryann Merlino (28,196;24.6%) to win both Assembly seats from the district for the Republicans.[6] With Joanne Schwartz,the closest Democratic candidate 350 votes behind Peters,the Democratic Party had considered filing for a recount.[7] Of all 40 districts,the race in the 8th District was the closest in the state,with 650 votes separating the first and fourth vote-getters.[8]
After the 8th District's Senator Dawn Addiego switched her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat in early 2019,Howarth allegedly attempted to do the same. The Burlington County Republican Party dropped its support for Howarth,choosing to instead support Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield to run with incumbent Ryan Peters.[9]
In the primary election where he heavily tied himself to President Donald Trump,[10] Howarth was defeated by Stanfield.
Tenure
The following Monday after Howarth's defeat,his nameplates were missing from the GOP caucus room,fueling speculation he would switch parties or resign,however neither happened.[11] Later that month,he proposed a bill that would take the pay away from legislators who are absent from a session.[12]
↑Camilli, Danielle. "GOP once again has all seats on Freeholder Board", Burlington County Times, January 3, 2012. Accessed January 19, 2018. "With the swearing-in of two new members Monday, the Burlington County Freeholder Board has been returned to all Republicans with officials pledging to reduce county taxes for the fifth consecutive year in 2012.Freeholders Leah Arter of Moorestown and Joe Howarth of Evesham took the oath of office and began their three-year terms on the five-member board at the annual reorganization meeting held at noon Monday at the county administration building."
↑Levinsky, David. "Burlington County Freeholder Ryan Peters picked to run for 8th District Assembly seat"Archived 2018-01-19 at the Wayback Machine , Burlington County Times, September 6, 2017. Accessed January 19, 2018. "Burlington County Freeholder Ryan Peters likely didn’t expect to have to do much campaigning this fall, since his seat on the county board isn’t up for re-election until next year. That changed Wednesday after the Hainesport resident was picked by the Burlington County Republican Committee to replace Assemblywoman Maria Rodriguez-Gregg on the party’s 8th Legislative District ticket. ... But she announced last week that she would not run for re-election, as she continues to fight charges of driving under the influence and obstruction, stemming from an April accident in which her vehicle was rear-ended on Route 73 at Fellowship Road in Mount Laurel."
↑Levinsky, David. Republicans Howarth, Peters still lead in 8th District race after provisional ballot count"Archived 2018-01-20 at the Wayback Machine , Burlington County Times, November 17, 2017; accessed January 19, 2018. "The official vote count has the incumbent Howarth and Peters, who currently serves as a Burlington County Freeholder, winning the contest for the district Assembly seats with 28,841 and 28,671 votes respectively. Schwartz finished a close third with 28,321 votes — just 350 shy of Peters — followed by Merlino with 28,196. The votes have been counted and Republicans Joe Howarth and Ryan Peters have emerged as the winners of the razor-tight 8th District Assembly race. At least for now. Democrats Joanne Schwartz and Mary Ann Merlino have not ruled out asking for a recount."
↑Symons, Michael. "NJ’s governor’s race cost $79 million but had lowest turnout ever", WKXW, November 29, 2017; accessed January 19, 2018. "Democrats won 54 of the 80 Assembly seats. The closest race was in the 8th District, where Republicans Joe Howarth and Ryan Peters defeated Democrats Joanne Schwartz and Maryann Merlino – and all four finished with between 28,196 and 28,841 votes."
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