FREEHOLD, NJ – Vin Gopal is a staunch ally of Governor Phil Murphy. He has supported most of Murphy’s radical political agenda, including the gasoline-powered car ban, offshore wind energy, COVID-19 lockdowns, and sanctuary state, and he served as chairman of the Veterans Commission when the governor forced state-run homes to take in COVID-19 patients.
On Tuesday, Gopal’s slate trounced Republicans. He did this by blitzing messaging that painted him as the fiscally conservative and responsible candidate and branded Steve Dnistrian as a shady wind-energy secret operative.
Essentially, he flipped the script on his Republican opponent and it worked.
Instead, Monmouth GOP Chairman Shaun Golden pointed his sights at Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore after Avi Schnall delivered an election-day upset.
Schnall’s victory was driven not by politics but by the need for Ocean County’s growing Jewish community to have representation in Trenton.
It was inevitable and had nothing to do with partisan politics, a point Golden simply doesn’t understand or is pretending not to understand. In fact, there is evidence that he might have even had hand in the support of Schnall, engaging in talks with Jewish leaders ahead of the election.
Schnall’s victory might not be a win for the GOP, as he ran as a Democrat out of necessity to get on the ballot, but it is a win for the 100,000 or so religious Jews in northern Ocean County in a time when they could really use the support.
Golden shouldn’t worry about Avi Schnall, there’s more of that to come in the future, most likely. What he needs to worry about is how the Monmouth GOP blew one of the most important elections in the entire state. Vin Gopal was ripe for the picking, but a weak campaign by the GOP and a strong campaign by Gopal’s team turned the tables.
In essence, Golden lost the Super Bowl on his home field because of fumbles, interceptions and missed field goals the entire game.
He needs to answer to the Republicans in Monmouth County as to why his team performed so badly on the field in the big game.