TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Republican Holly Schepisi was sworn into the New Jersey Senate on Thursday, filling the vacancy left when Sen. Gerald Cardinale died last month.
Schepisi, 49, will represent the 39th District, which includes parts of Bergen and Passaic counties. It is the same district which she served in the Assembly since 2012.
During remarks after her swearing-in, the attorney noted the number of Republican female state senators was doubling from one to two, and she said she was the first GOP woman to represent the district in the Senate. Democrats hold 25 seats in the chamber versus 15 for Republicans.
Cardinale, 86, died in February after a brief illness that was not COVID-19-related after representing the district for nearly four decades.
Schepisi, who won a Republican nomination contest to fill the seat, is running for election to a full term this November. Both the Assembly and Senate are up for election this year, along with the governor.
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