NJ Democrat hospitalized as her reelection bid goes down in flames, report says

🗳️ Lumberton Committeewoman Gina LaPlaca lost her primary race with just 13% of the vote.

⚠️ The defeat follows her guilty plea in a drunken-driving case involving her young son.

🔴 Her husband was charged last week in a separate domestic violence case.

LUMBERTON — A Democratic township committeewoman has decisively lost her seat after she made headlines for drunk driving with her toddler in the backseat.

Gina LaPlaca got 13% of the vote, or 323 ballots, in Tuesday's Democratic primaries. Unofficial results show that her two opponents — incumbent Mayor Terrance Benson and former committeewoman Kendra Hatfield — received more than 1,000 votes each. In 2023, LaPlaca and Benson had run on the same ticket and won together.

Before the results ever came in, LaPlaca was hospitalized. The New Jersey Globe reports that an ambulance was called to her home early Tuesday morning. She had chest pains and shortness of breath, but soon returned home, according to the report. New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to LaPlaca for comment.

Gina LaPlaca at the New Jersey State House in Trenton in 2015, at left. (Gina LaPlaca via Facebook)

DWI case transformed a local official into a statewide headline

LaPlaca's fall from grace has been well documented since she was first elected to the Lumberton Township Committee in 2019. Despite her years in public service, she is best known in New Jersey for drinking and driving. In early March, the local official said she was accepted into a pretrial intervention program, despite initial conflicting reports.

"For many years, I have struggled privately with alcoholism. That struggle is no longer private — and it shouldn’t be. Addiction does not excuse my behavior, but it does explain the work I must continue to do. I am fully committed to my recovery," LaPlaca said at the time.

Mayor Gina LaPlaca takes a sobriety test

Last year, then-Mayor LaPlaca pulled into her driveway with police right behind her. She had just picked up her two-year-old son from daycare after enjoying some St. Patrick's Day activities. Police said her blood alcohol content was nearly four times the legal limit, and she later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and fourth-degree child abuse.

In the months that followed, LaPlaca defiantly remained in office. Then-Gov. Phil Murphy and other fellow Democrats called for her to resign. She instead ran for reelection on Tuesday and was soundly defeated.

READ ALSO: NJ utility seeks rate hike as water shutoffs and bills soar

Jason Carty and Gina LaPlaca in 2016 (Jason Carty via Facebook)

New family turmoil emerged days before the election

According to her husband, Jason Carty, the embattled official entered a 30-day rehab program after the incident. LaPlaca is now participating in Alcoholics Anonymous and has installed an ignition interlock device on her vehicle, which will prevent a person who has consumed alcohol from taking the wheel.

While Carty was publicly defending his wife from the media, he's accused of attacking her behind closed doors. Just last week, LaPlaca called the police on her husband. Carty is charged with second-degree strangulation of a domestic violence victim.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom