Avi Schnall won, but the ultimate victor was the Ihr HaTorah’s obedience to daas Torah
When Rabbi Avi Schnall, director of Agudath Israel’s New Jersey office, announced his unlikely candidacy for the statehouse as a Democrat just a few short weeks before Election Day, he faced a daunting task.
Political pundits and analysists laid out what they saw as his single plausible path to victory in a district that had sent only Republicans to Trenton since its formation some 30 years ago. First, they posited, he would have to unite the Orthodox vote. Second, he’d have to actually get them to the polls. Finally, voter turnout from Republicans in surrounding areas would have to be seriously suppressed. If he managed to pull off that trifecta, they estimated, then the unthinkable might happen: a Democrat would represent the deep-red district.
As the results were tallied last Tuesday evening, it became clear that the Schnall campaign had managed to do more than just triumph. His resounding victory trumped many forecasts, and his campaign’s success sent shockwaves through Trenton.
State political junkies are beginning to unpack the ramifications of the results. One salient point is that Lakewood voters sent a message to lawmakers that their needs can no longer be ignored, their issues and concerns no longer treated as state budget leftovers. The New Jersey Globe, a respected political website, called the Lakewood race “the most unusual election result of the year,” and Joey Fox, a political analyst with the site, wrote that “this year was a massive demonstration of the Lakewood Orthodox community’s political power.”
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