Michael J. Doherty

Michael Doherty
Michael Doherty
Member of the New Jersey Senate; from the 23rd district
	In office; November 23, 2009 – November 30, 2022
Preceded by	Marcia A. Karrow
Succeeded by	Doug Steinhardt
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly; from the 23rd district
	In office; January 8, 2002 – November 23, 2009
Preceded by	Leonard Lance
Succeeded by	Erik Peterson
Member of the Warren County ; Board of County Commissioners from the 1st district
	In office; January 1, 2001 – January 1, 2004
Preceded by	Ann M. Stone
Succeeded by	Everett A. Chamberlain
Personal details
Born	May 24, 1963 (age 61); Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Linda Doherty
Children	Three
Alma mater	United States Military Academy (BS); Seton Hall University (JD)
Website	Legislative website

Michael J. Doherty (born May 24, 1963) is an American Republican Party politician who has served as the surrogate of Warren County, New Jersey since November 30, 2022. He previously served in the New Jersey Senate representing the 23rd Legislative District. He was sworn into the State Senate on November 23, 2009, having won the seat held by Marcia A. Karrow, who had earlier been selected by a party convention to succeed Leonard Lance after his election to the United States House of Representatives. Doherty served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2002 to 2009.

Early life

Doherty was born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey and resides in Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey.^[1] Doherty grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey and graduated from Glen Ridge High School in 1981.

In 1985, Doherty graduated with a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and was commissioned as an officer in the Field Artillery. Doherty served on active duty in the United States Army from 1985–89 and in the United States Army Reserve from 1989–93, achieving the rank of captain. He is a graduate of the United States Army Airborne School, the U.S. Army Jungle School and the Defense Language Institute (German). In the Army, he was stationed in Germany and served as a nuclear operations officer. His unit's mission was to utilize nuclear armed missiles to defend Western Europe and NATO forces from possible Soviet aggression. He was granted a Top Secret clearance to perform his nuclear duties.^[2]

Doherty and his wife, Linda, have three sons, who have served or are serving on active duty in different branches of the armed forces: Matthew, U.S. Army; Ryan, U.S. Marine Corps; and Jared, U.S. Air Force.^[2]

In 1993, he was awarded a J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law. Doherty is a patent attorney, specializing in semiconductor and medical device technology.^[2]

Warren County Board of County Commissioners

Doherty served on the Warren County Board of County Commissioners from the 1st district .^[3] In 2000, he defeated the incumbent Freeholder Director, a Democrat, to capture control of the Freeholder Board for the Republican Party.^[4]^[5] In 2001, he served as deputy director of the Freeholder Board.^[6] He was elected to serve as the Director of the Board in both 2002 and 2003.^[3]

Doherty also began a program to reduce the county debt. He prevailed in a showdown with a Superior Court judge who threatened to jail Doherty unless he issued $5 million in bonds to fund an expansion of Warren County Community College. The New Jersey Supreme Court sided with Doherty and held that the Freeholder Board was correct to ignore the judge's order.^[7]

New Jersey Assembly

Doherty was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2001, and was re-elected in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He served in the Assembly on the Appropriations Committee and the Labor Committee.^[3] Early in his Assembly career, he served on the Agriculture Committee, the Housing and the Local Government Committee, and the State House Commission.^{[citation needed]}

New Jersey Senate

In November 2008, Doherty announced his intention to run for the State Senate seat vacated by Leonard Lance, who was elected to represent the 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.^[8]

Doherty's opponent in the race was Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow.^[9] Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt originally planned to run for the vacancy as well, but he dropped out to run for one of the Assembly vacancies opened up by Karrow or Doherty.^[10]

On January 24, 2009, a special election was held by a convention of Republican committee members from Hunterdon and Warren counties. Karrow defeated Doherty in the special election by a margin of 195 votes to 143. Doherty announced that he would run against Karrow a second time in the June 2009 primary, when she would be running as the incumbent. Doherty gave up his Assembly seat by opposing Karrow in the primary.^[11] On June 2, 2009, Doherty defeated Karrow in the Republican Senate primary by a margin of 52%-48%.^[12]

He defeated the Democratic candidate Harvey Baron in a special election on November 3, 2009, to fill the remaining two years of the Senate term, garnering 71% of the vote.^[13] He was first sworn into his Senate seat on November 23, 2009.^[14] In the Senate for the 2018-19 session, Doherty serves on the Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee.^[15] Doherty was re-elected to the Senate in November 2011, 2013 and 2017 by wide margins.

In September 2022, Doherty announced that he would retire from the Senate to seek the Warren County Surrogate’s Office. Former State GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt announced that he would run in a special election convention in for the vacated senate seat; Doherty endorsed Steinhardt as his successor.^[16]

Committees

Judiciary
Education

2012 U.S. Senate election

There had been speculation that Doherty would run against incumbent Bob Menendez for United States Senator.^[17] Assemblyman John DiMaio from the same legislative district as Doherty has said he would endorse Doherty if he ran.^[18] In February 2012, Doherty announced his support for Joseph M. Kyrillos for the Republican nomination for the 2012 U.S. Senate race.^[19]

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

23rd Legislative District general election, 2021^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty (incumbent)	46,554	60.95
	Democratic	Denise T. King	29,830	39.05
Total votes			76,384	100.0
	Republican hold

New Jersey general election, 2017^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	35,676	59.1	8.5
	Democratic	Christine Lui Chen	24,730	40.9	9.7
Total votes			'*60,406'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013^[22]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	37,477	67.6
Democratic	Gerard R. Bowers	17,311	31.2
Independent	Daniel Z. Seyler	672	1.2
Republican hold

New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011^[23]
	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	27,750	61.3
Democratic	John Graf, Jr.	12,579	35.7
Independent	Daniel Z. Seyler	1,040	3.0
Republican hold

Special election, November 3, 2009^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty	51,960	71.4	4.4
	Democratic	Harvey Baron	20,851	28.6	1.3
Total votes			'*72,811'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey Assembly

New Jersey general election, 2007^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Marcia A. Karrow (Incumbent)	28,904	31.0	1.6
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	28,857	31.0	0.8
	Democratic	Dominick C. Santini Jr.	18,333	19.7	1.2
	Democratic	Peter G. Maurer	17,119	18.4	0.6
Total votes			'*93,213'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2005^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	41,753	31.8	1.5
	Republican	Marcia A. Karrow	38,623	29.4	1.5
	Democratic	Janice L. Kovach	27,485	20.9	0.6
	Democratic	Scott McDonald	23,387	17.8	0.7
Total votes			'*131,248'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2003^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Connie Myers (Incumbent)	26,122	30.9	1.5
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty (Incumbent)	25,554	30.3	1.1
	Democratic	Brian D. Smith	17,100	20.3	3.8
	Democratic	Cynthia L. Ege	15,658	18.5	2.4
Total votes			'*84,434'*	'*100.0'*

New Jersey general election, 2001^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Connie Myers (Incumbent)	39,313	32.4
	Republican	Michael J. Doherty	35,345	29.2
	Democratic	J. Rebecca Goff	19,995	16.5
	Democratic	Thomas E. Palmieri	19,454	16.1
	Warren/Hunterdon Independent	Mike King	7,060	5.8
Total votes			121,167	100.0

References

^ Assembly Member Michael J. Doherty, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 16, 2007.
^ ^a ^b ^c Senator Michael J. Doherty, New Jersey Senate Republicans. Accessed November 23, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Assemblyman Doherty's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 5, 2007
^ "Our Campaigns - Warren County Freeholder Race - Nov 07, 2000".
^ "Doherty will run for Warren Surrogate, Steinhardt will seek his Senate seat". 27 August 2022.
^ "Board of Chosen Freeholders". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2001. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
^ "WARREN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. WARREN COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, Defendant-Appellant. IN RE: the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders Charged With Contempt of Court". FindLaw. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
^ Wichert, Bill (2008-11-21). "Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow enters race to become state senator in 23rd Legislative District". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
^ Wichert, Bill (2008-12-15). "Three Republicans vie to fill state Senate seat due to be vacated by Leonard Lance". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
^ "Holt decides to run for assembly instead of state senate". PolitickerNJ. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
^ "Karrow wins; calls for unity as Doherty vows to fight on in the primary". PolitickerNJ. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
^ "Karrow loses in Hunterdon and Warren". PolitickerNJ. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
^ Wichert, Bill (2009-11-04). "Republican Michael Doherty wins New Jersey Senate post; GOP running mates John DiMaio and Erik Peterson capture state Assembly seats". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
^ Wichert, Bill (2009-11-23). "Michael Doherty sworn in as new state senator representing Warren, Hunterdon counties". The Express-Times. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
^ Senator Doherty's page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2018.
^ Wildstein, David. "Steinhardt locks up key endorsements to secure State Senate seat", New Jersey Globe, September 1, 2022. Accessed September 29, 2022. "Former GOP State Chairman Doug Steinhardt appears to have lined up enough support to win the 23rd district State Senate seat after receiving endorsements from key Republican officials, including the man he wants to succeed, State Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Oxford)."
^ D'Aprile, Shane (December 12, 2010). "New Jersey GOP lacking a name to face a more vulnerable Menendez". The Hill. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
^ Pizarro, Max (17 August 2011). "DiMaio says he would support Doherty U.S. Senate bid". PolitickerNJ.com. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
^ Pizzaro, Max. "Doherty formally backs Kyrillos for Senate", PolitickerNJ, February 10, 2012. Accessed June 22, 2012. "Surprising no one at this point after strengthening his relationship with the Christie administration, state Sen. Mike Doherty (R-23) today said he intends to back state state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-13) for U.S. Senate."
^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
^ "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.
^ "Official List, Candidate Returns for Special Senate Election for November 2009 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
^ "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
^ "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
^ "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
^ "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

External links

Senator Michael Doherty's Official Website
Senator Doherty's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms - 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
Senator Michael J. Doherty, Project Vote Smart

Political offices
Preceded by Ann M. Stone	Member of the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders from the 1st district January 1, 2001–January 1, 2004	Succeeded by Everett A. Chamberlain
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Leonard Lance	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 23rd district January 8, 2002–November 23, 2009 Served alongside: Connie Myers, Marcia A. Karrow, John DiMaio	Succeeded by Erik Peterson
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by Marcia A. Karrow	Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 23rd district November 23, 2009–present	Incumbent

[1] Assembly Member Michael J. Doherty, Project Vote Smart. Accessed August 16, 2007.

[SenateNJ-2] Senator Michael J. Doherty, New Jersey Senate Republicans. Accessed November 23, 2016.

[NJLEG-3] Assemblyman Doherty's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 5, 2007

[4] "Our Campaigns - Warren County Freeholder Race - Nov 07, 2000".

[5] "Doherty will run for Warren Surrogate, Steinhardt will seek his Senate seat". 27 August 2022.

[Board_of_Chosen_Freeholders-6] "Board of Chosen Freeholders". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 3 February 2001. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

[New_Jersey_Supreme_Court-7] "WARREN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. WARREN COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, Defendant-Appellant. IN RE: the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders Charged With Contempt of Court". FindLaw. Retrieved 14 July 2017.

[8] Wichert, Bill (2008-11-21). "Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow enters race to become state senator in 23rd Legislative District". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-17.

[9] Wichert, Bill (2008-12-15). "Three Republicans vie to fill state Senate seat due to be vacated by Leonard Lance". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-17.

[10] "Holt decides to run for assembly instead of state senate". PolitickerNJ. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-01-05.

[11] "Karrow wins; calls for unity as Doherty vows to fight on in the primary". PolitickerNJ. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-01-24.

[12] "Karrow loses in Hunterdon and Warren". PolitickerNJ. 2009-06-02. Retrieved 2009-06-03.

[13] Wichert, Bill (2009-11-04). "Republican Michael Doherty wins New Jersey Senate post; GOP running mates John DiMaio and Erik Peterson capture state Assembly seats". The Express-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-11-06.

[14] Wichert, Bill (2009-11-23). "Michael Doherty sworn in as new state senator representing Warren, Hunterdon counties". The Express-Times. Retrieved 2009-11-23.

[15] Senator Doherty's page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2018.

[16] Wildstein, David. "Steinhardt locks up key endorsements to secure State Senate seat", New Jersey Globe, September 1, 2022. Accessed September 29, 2022. "Former GOP State Chairman Doug Steinhardt appears to have lined up enough support to win the 23rd district State Senate seat after receiving endorsements from key Republican officials, including the man he wants to succeed, State Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Oxford)."

[thehill01-17] D'Aprile, Shane (December 12, 2010). "New Jersey GOP lacking a name to face a more vulnerable Menendez". The Hill. Retrieved December 29, 2010.

[18] Pizarro, Max (17 August 2011). "DiMaio says he would support Doherty U.S. Senate bid". PolitickerNJ.com. Retrieved 26 September 2011.

[19] Pizzaro, Max. "Doherty formally backs Kyrillos for Senate", PolitickerNJ, February 10, 2012. Accessed June 22, 2012. "Surprising no one at this point after strengthening his relationship with the Christie administration, state Sen. Mike Doherty (R-23) today said he intends to back state state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-13) for U.S. Senate."

[GeneralResults-20] "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.

[2017resultsSen-21] "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.

[Results2013-22] "Official List Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2015.

[Results2011-23] Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed June 22, 2012.

[2009special-24] "Official List, Candidate Returns for Special Senate Election for November 2009 General Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved January 27, 2016.

[25] "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

[26] "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

[27] "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

[28] "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

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