Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin was unanimously re-elected to an unprecedented fifth term as he prepares to lead the largest lower house majority since 1975.
Coughlin, who became the longest-serving Speaker in New Jersey history in January 2024, is now positioned to hold the powerful legislative leadership post until January 2028.
Majority Leader Louis Greenwald was re-elected to an eighth term without opposition. Speaker Pro-Tempore Annette Quijano and Majority Conference Leader Linda Carter will also return.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to have once again earned the trust of my colleagues, and to be chosen to serve a fifth term as Speaker is a privilege that will stand as one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Coughlin. “Together, we have accomplished so many great things for the people of New Jersey, and I look forward to continuing to serve the 9.5 million people who call our state home.”
Coughlin won the post after the 2017 election, ousting the sitting Speaker Vincent Prieto.
If current leads hold, Democrats will go into next year with a 57-23 majority, the party’s largest caucus since the 1973 Watergate wave led to Democrats winning 66 Assembly seats. That would mean Coughlin, who also heads the campaign arm of the Assembly Democrats, will have flipped eleven seats in the last two elections.
“Our progress over the past eight years speaks for itself and reflects our commitment to tackling the kitchen table issues people care about most. We have accomplished so many great things for the people of New Jersey, from record property tax relief and the launch of the new Stay NJ program, to keeping the costs of medications down, expanding access to housing, supporting working families, and leading the fight against food insecurity,” Coughlin stated. “Kitchen table issues will continue to guide our work as we move forward, and I am eager to spend the next two years working with our leadership team, our caucus, our colleagues in the Legislature, and the Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill to build on the strong foundation we’ve laid for New Jersey’s future.”
Greenwald, the dean of the Assembly, is also the longest-serving Majority Leader in state history.
