Democrats have filled a hole on their 30th Legislative District ballot, tapping a retired Belmar schoolteacher to run alongside Assemblyman Avi Schnall after party veteran Claire Deicke bowed out.
Joanne DeBenedictis, 75, a former fifth-grade teacher and president of the Belmar Woman’s Club, was selected to replace Deicke, the 82-year-old former Belmar council president who quietly stepped aside several weeks ago. The move keeps Democrats from leaving a vacancy in a district that has long been one of the toughest nuts to crack on the Shore.
The 30th District — spanning parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties — is deep-red turf. Democrats rarely put up more than a token fight here, but by plugging in DeBenedictis, the party can at least claim a full ticket in November.
Democrats are expected to lean into DeBenedictis’s long career in education and community service to balance the ticket with Assemblyman Schnall, who won his first term in 2023. Insiders say the pick is less about flipping the seat than about keeping the bench filled and maintaining visibility in a district where GOP dominance has often gone unchallenged.