Michael J. Doherty (born May 24, 1963) is an American Republican Party politician who has served as the surrogate of

Warren County, New Jersey Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 109,632, representing an increase of 940 (0.9%) from the 108,692 residents counted at the 2010 census. The county bord ...

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 Marcia A. Karrow (born March 10, 1959) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician who is the mayor of Flemington, New Jersey, Flemington, New Jersey. She previously served in the New Jersey State Senate representi ...

, who had earlier been selected by a party convention to succeed

Leonard Lance Leonard John Lance (born June 25, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2009 to 2019. He ran for re-election in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Tom Malinowski. He is a member of the ...

after his election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Doherty served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 2002 to 2009.

Early life

Doherty was born in

Point Pleasant, New Jersey Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was down from 19,306 in 2000 but still up from 18,177 in 1990. The Borough is a Jersey Shore community situ ...

and resides in

Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey Washington Township is a township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 6,651, reflecting an increase of 403 (+6.5%) from the 6,248 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

. Doherty grew up in

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 7,527,

and graduated from

Glen Ridge High School Glen Ridge High School (GRHS) is a comprehensive six-year public middle school / high school serving students in seventh through twelfth grades from Glen Ridge, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary schoo ...

in 1981. In 1985, Doherty graduated with a B.S. from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, and was commissioned as an officer in the Field Artillery. Doherty served on active duty in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1985–89 and in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

from 1989–93, achieving the rank of captain. He is a graduate of the

United States Army Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School – widely known as Jump School – conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, Unit ...

, the U.S. Army Jungle School and the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

(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.Senator Michael J. Doherty
New Jersey Senate Republicans. Accessed November 23, 2016. 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. In 1993, he was awarded a J.D. from the

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...

. Doherty is a patent attorney, specializing in semiconductor and medical device technology.

Warren County Board of County Commissioners

Doherty served on the Warren County Board of County Commissioners from the 1st district . In 2000, he defeated the incumbent Freeholder Director, a Democrat, to capture control of the Freeholder Board for the Republican Party. In 2001, he served as deputy director of the Freeholder Board. He was elected to serve as the Director of the Board in both 2002 and 2003. 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 Warren County Community College (WCCC) is a public community college in Warren County, New Jersey. Its campus is in Washington Township. History Warren County Community College was established in 1981. Its first class of students graduated in 19 ...

. The

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

sided with Doherty and held that the Freeholder Board was correct to ignore the judge's order.

New Jersey Assembly

Doherty was elected to the

in 2001, and was re-elected in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He served in the Assembly on the Appropriations Committee and the Labor Committee.Assemblyman Doherty's legislative web page
New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 5, 2007 Early in his Assembly career, he served on the Agriculture Committee, the Housing and the Local Government Committee, and the State House Commission.

New Jersey Senate

In November 2008, Doherty announced his intention to run for the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

seat vacated by

, who was elected to represent the 7th congressional district in the

. Doherty's opponent in the race was Assemblywoman

. 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. 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. On June 2, 2009, Doherty defeated Karrow in the Republican Senate primary by a margin of 52%-48%. 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. He was first sworn into his Senate seat on November 23, 2009. In the Senate for the 2018-19 session, Doherty serves on the Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee. 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.

Committees

*Judiciary *Education

2012 U.S. Senate election

There had been speculation that Doherty would run against incumbent Bob Menendez for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Assemblyman John DiMaio from the same legislative district as Doherty has said he would endorse Doherty if he ran. In February 2012, Doherty announced his support for Joseph M. Kyrillos for the Republican nomination for the 2012 U.S. Senate race.Pizzaro, Max
"Doherty formally backs Kyrillos for Senate"

PolitickerNJ The Politicker Network, or Politicker.com, was a national network of fifty state-based political websites operated by the ''New York Observer''. Origins The network had its origins in journalist Ben Smith's ''New York Observer'' blog, "''The Poli ...

, 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."

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Assembly

References

External links

Senator Michael Doherty's Official WebsiteSenator Doherty's legislative web page
New Jersey Legislature *''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
2016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004Senator Michael J. Doherty

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Michael J. 1963 births Defense Language Institute alumni Living people County commissioners in New Jersey Glen Ridge High School alumni New Jersey lawyers Republican Party New Jersey state senators Politicians from Warren County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly American patent attorneys People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey People from Point Pleasant, New Jersey People from Washington Township, Warren County, New Jersey Seton Hall University School of Law alumni United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni 21st-century American politicians Military personnel from New Jersey