Michael Patrick Carroll

Michael Patrick Carroll (born April 8, 1958) is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He represented the 25th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2020. Carroll did not run for re-election in 2019; instead, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for Morris County Surrogate.

Michael Patrick Carroll
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 25th District
In office
January 9, 1996 – January 14, 2020
Preceded byArthur R. Albohn
Succeeded byBrian Bergen
Assembly Minority Parliamentarian
In office
January 10, 2012 – January 14, 2020
LeaderJon Bramnick
Preceded byJames Holzapfel
Succeeded byErik Peterson
In office
January 8, 2002 – January 10, 2006
LeaderAlex DeCroce
Succeeded byRick Merkt
Personal details
Born (1958-04-08) April 8, 1958
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSharon Anderson
ChildrenSix
ResidenceMorris Township, New Jersey
Alma materJohns Hopkins University (B.A.)
Rutgers School of Law–Newark (J.D.)
OccupationPolitician, Attorney
WebsiteLegislative Website
Assembly Republicans Website

Early life

Carroll was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on April 8, 1958, the son of Maurice C. and Margaret W. Carroll. Carroll moved with his family to Morris Township, New Jersey in 1960. Carroll graduated from Delbarton School in 1976, earned a B.A. in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Johns Hopkins University in 1980, and received a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark in 1983.[1]

Carroll founded the Morris County Young Republicans, chairing the group for four years. He was first elected to the Morris County Republican Committee for Morris Township in 1980. In 1984, after moving to Morristown, he was elected to the Republican County Committee there, serving as chairman for one term. Returning to Morris Township, he was once again elected to the Republican County Committee.

New Jersey Assembly

Carroll first ran for the Assembly in 1993; he lost that election by fewer than 422 votes to incumbent Assemblyman Arthur R. Albohn (then-Assemblyman Rodney Frelinghuysen received the most votes in the primary).[2] In 1995, Carroll and Anthony Bucco, who was appointed to the Assembly after Frelinghuysen's election to Congress, prevailed in a Republican primary against Rick Merkt, Chris Christie, and two others in the 25th Legislative District;[3] Carroll and Bucco went on to victory in the fall.[4]

Carroll proposed a bill to mandate the reading, in school each morning, of a section of the Declaration of Independence.[5] The April 2003 issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine cited Carroll as the "Most Conservative" member of the New Jersey Legislature. The magazine cited Carroll's "...missionary zeal and his talent for articulating his stances on behalf of individual and property rights, the sanctity of family—including unborn children—and the cult of Reaganism..." in elaborating on their choice.[6]

Carroll "has long been known in state political circles as one of the most socially conservative, and outspoken, members of the legislature". In 2008, "a comment that Carroll made about slavery" made "national headlines. At the time, the New Jersey legislature was weighing whether the state should issue an official apology for slavery. Carroll opposed the measure, and said that African-Americans should actually be grateful for slavery, because it was the means by which they eventually gained American citizenship".[7]

In November 2010, the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" passed both houses of the state legislature. Carroll was the only legislator to vote "no"; he objected "to the fact that it explicitly mentions categories of students subject to bullying".[8]

Morris County Surrogate

Carroll did not run for re-election to the Assembly in 2019, choosing instead to run for Morris County Surrogate.[9] He was defeated in the Republican primary for Surrogate by Morris County Freeholder Heather Darling.[10]

Committees
  • Higher Education
  • Judiciary
  • State and Local Government
  • Joint Committee on Housing and Affordability

Personal life

In 1983, Carroll married Sharon, née Anderson, whom he met when the two of them worked together at McDonald's. The couple has six children: Sean Michael, James Patrick, Brian Christopher, Jane Eleanor, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Edward Lee.[11]

Electoral history

New Jersey Assembly
New Jersey general election, 2017[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 30,323 26.2 Decrease 2.0
Republican Tony Bucco (Incumbent) 30,278 26.1 Decrease 3.4
Democratic Thomas Moran 27,848 24.0 Increase 3.2
Democratic Richard Corcoran 27,386 23.6 Increase 2.0
Total votes '115,835' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2015[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tony Bucco (Incumbent) 13,974 29.5 Decrease 13.5
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 13,372 28.2 Decrease 12.2
Democratic Richard J. Corcoran III 10,230 21.6 N/A
Democratic Thomas Moran 9,849 20.8 N/A
Total votes '47,425' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2013[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tony Bucco (Incumbent) 35,536 43.0 Increase 13.5
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 33,393 40.4 Increase 10.4
Listen, Lead, Succeed Rebecca Feldman 9,209 11.2 N/A
Principle Before Politics Jack Curtis 4,426 5.4 N/A
Total votes '82,564' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2011[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 18,481 30.0
Republican Tony Bucco (Incumbent) 18,218 29.5
Democratic Gale Heiss Colucci 12,564 20.4
Democratic George Stafford 12,432 20.2
Total votes 61,695 100.0
New Jersey general election, 2009[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tony Bucco 39,150 33.0 Increase 3.3
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 38,188 32.2 Increase 3.3
Democratic Wendy Wright 21,431 18.0 Decrease 3.5
Democratic Rebekah Conroy 20,010 16.8 Decrease 3.1
Total votes '118,779' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2007[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Rick Merkt (Incumbent) 22,102 29.7 Increase 1.6
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 21,468 28.9 Increase 2.1
Democratic Dana Wefer 16,001 21.5 Decrease 1.1
Democratic Marshall L. Gates 14,780 19.9 Decrease 2.6
Total votes '74,351' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2005[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Rick Merkt (Incumbent) 32,089 28.1 Decrease 9.0
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 30,636 26.8 Decrease 10.8
Democratic Thomas Jackson 25,751 22.6 Decrease 2.8
Democratic Janice Schindler 25,709 22.5 N/A
Total votes '114,185' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2003[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 23,841 37.6 Increase 7.6
Republican Rick Merkt (Incumbent) 23,525 37.1 Increase 7.1
Democratic Thomas A. Zelante 16,094 25.4 Increase 4.6
Total votes '63,460' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2001[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 33,426 30.0
Republican Rick Merkt (Incumbent) 33,414 30.0
Democratic Ann Huber 23,110 20.8
Democratic Dick Tighe 21,408 19.2
Total votes 111,358 100.0
New Jersey general election, 1999[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Rick Merkt (Incumbent) 17,259 30.5 Decrease 0.2
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 17,204 30.4 Decrease 1.4
Democratic Ronald J. Pellegrino 10,607 18.7 Increase 1.1
Democratic Gerald A. Nunan 10,018 17.7 Increase 0.1
Conservative James Spinosa 772 1.4 Steady 0.0
Conservative Stephen Spinosa 750 1.3 Increase 0.2
Total votes '56,610' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 1997[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll (Incumbent) 37,935 31.8 Increase 3.2
Republican Rick Merkt 36,649 30.7 Decrease 0.1
Democratic Chris Evangel 20,968 17.6 Decrease 0.7
Democratic Harriet Lerner 20,967 17.6 Decrease 0.5
Conservative James Spinosa 1,630 1.4 Decrease 0.7
Conservative Stephen Spinosa 1,296 1.1 Decrease 1.0
Total votes '119,445' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 1995[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Anthony Bucco (Incumbent) 21,787 30.8 Decrease 6.1
Republican Michael Patrick Carroll 20,215 28.6 Decrease 2.6
Democratic Stephen D. Landfield 12,943 18.3 Increase 2.0
Democratic Stanley B. Yablonsky 12,795 18.1 Increase 3.1
Conservative Joseph Long 1,495 2.1 N/A
Conservative Jim Spinosa 1,478 2.1 N/A
Total votes '70,713' '100.0'

References
  1. Assemblyman Carroll's legislative web page, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 31. 2018.
  2. "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of Senate and Assembly for Election Held June 8, 1993" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. August 3, 1993. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  3. "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of Senate and Assembly for Election Held June 6, 1995" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  4. "Official List Primary Election Returns for the Office of General Assembly for Election Held June 6, 1995" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 6, 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  5. "July 4, 1999 - Declaration of Independence Dispute - 2002-02-01", Voice of America, February 1, 2002. Accessed January 31, 2018. "RS: There's debate over a bill in the state of New Jersey to require schoolchildren to recite two sentences from the declaration of independence each day.... MICHAEL CARROLL Our students, I think, our children, are not getting a sufficient sense these days of what makes it special to be an American, and in these two short sentences, these fifty-six words, Jefferson distills the essence of what America is all about. AA: Michael Patrick Carroll sponsored the bill in the New Jersey assembly."
  6. Otis, Lauren. ""Statehouse Confidential"". Archived from the original on June 22, 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), New Jersey Monthly, April 2006. Accessed August 17, 2007.
  7. "NJ Lawmaker Said African-Americans Should Be Thankful for Slavery. Now, He Wants a New Job". WNYC.
  8. Friedman, Matt (November 23, 2010). "N.J. Legislature advances 'Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights' for Gov. Christie's consideration". nj.
  9. "Carroll to run for Morris County surrogate". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  10. "Darling wins beats Michael Patrick Carroll for Surrogate". New Jersey Insider. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  11. Michael Patrick Carroll biography Archived 2006-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed August 17, 2007.
  12. "2017-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  13. "2015-official-ge-results-nj-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  14. "2013-official-general-election-results-general-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  15. "2011-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-results-121411.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  16. "2009-official-gen-elect-gen-assembly-tallies-120109.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  17. "2007-official-general-election-tallies(ga)-12.12.07.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  18. "05831236.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  19. "2003g_a_candidate_tally.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  20. "2001-general-elect-gen-assembly-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  21. "1999-general-elect-gen-assembly-candidate-tallies.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  22. "1997-general-election-results-state-assembly.pdf" (PDF). New Jersey Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  23. "NJ General Assembly 25". Our Campaigns. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
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