2024 Winner: Jeremy Li for Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education

Board of Education Member-Elect Jeremy Li

Race highlights:

✅ Elected a 21 year old conservative college student to a liberal-held seat on the Board of Education in New Jersey's 46th largest municipality

✅ Coalesced Republicans and won crossover support from Democrats, most notably Asian voters in Bridgewater's most densely populated Milltown section

✅ Jeremy defeated three other candidates, placing second out of five candidates for three seats and outrunning a two-term liberal incumbent by 2.73%

✅ Won 33 out of 36 districts in Bridgewater, placing first in 8 of them against two incumbents

Board of Education Member-Elect Jeremy Li placed second in a five-way race for three seats on the Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education. A 21 year old conservative Rutgers student and first-time candidate, Jeremy won a liberal-held seat and outran a two-term liberal incumbent.

Jeremy ran on an unassailable campaign message: educational excellence. Bridgewater-Raritan has long prided itself on being a Blue Ribbon high school and one of the top school districts in the state. Bridgewater's East Asian and South Asian populations have been booming in recent years, attracted to town in large part due to their excellent school system. In just the past 5 years, however, Bridgewater-Raritan's Niche ranking has slipped from 22nd in the state to 42nd.

Jeremy ran a positive campaign, not attacking any incumbent by name, but presenting the issues with the status quo plainly and illustrating the need for change.

We highlighted Jeremy's youth as an advantage that separated him from his opponents--as a recent graduate of BRHS in the post-COVID era, he personally witnessed violence at the high school on multiple occasions, and as a good student, had his education routinely disrupted by the lack of discipline in the district. Additionally, there was an effort by the district earlier in the year to limit Advanced Placement courses. A former AP student himself, Jeremy was able to champion the AP kids on this issue.

When funding is limited, a campaign must be very deliberate about how those funds are spent. Jeremy bought less lawn signs than he wanted to, but they stuck out on the side of the road in eye-catching bright red with a panther, the school mascot, and summed up his campaign in a short phrase: "Putting Education First." He reached voters cheaply through Facebook ads and print ads in the town newspaper that hits every house. He was able to afford a mailer to select parts of town. Most importantly, Jeremy connected with voters face-to-face through the cheapest method of campaigning--knocking doors.

While one cannot knock 36 districts in 2 months (if they are employed, attending school, or otherwise have a life), Jeremy exceeded his campaign team's expectations on the door-knocking front. He focused on Milltown, the most densely populated (largely by East Asian and South Asian voters) section of town that sits between 22 and 202. Democrats historically perform better in the six Milltown districts than any other area in town. Jeremy was raised in and continues to reside in this area, and was uniquely positioned to garner support there as conservative BOE Member Lucy Li (no familial relation) did in 2022.

While Bridgewater is a 6-0 Republican town, its BOE is controlled by liberals. One of two Republicans in the race, Jeremy was helped tremendously by the endorsement of Mayor Matthew Moench and the independent expenditures of Better Bridgewater. The Bridgewater GOP is one of the finest municipal operations in the state.

Jeremy placed in the top three in 33 out of 36 districts in Bridgewater, placing first in 8 of them against two incumbents. He placed second overall, winning one of the three seats available. He placed first or second in all six Milltown districts--successfully marrying the Republican vote with the traditionally Democrat Asian vote in a nonpartisan election where the partisan lines were obvious and bitterly debated on Facebook.

Congratulations to Jeremy. He is intelligent, hard-working, and humble, and he will make an excellent BOE member. I'm proud to say I knew him when he was in high school and started volunteering for the Somerset GOP, and glad I could return the favor after all he's done for me over the years. Keep an eye on this YR rising star!

Follow Jeremy on Facebook here.