Mitchelle Drulis

American politician

Mitchelle Drulis

Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 16th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2024 Serving with Roy Freiman
Preceded by	Sadaf Jaffer

Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Raritan Township, New Jersey
Education	Rutgers University
Website	Legislative webpage

Mitchelle Drulis is an American Democratic Party politician serving as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 16th legislative district, having taken office on January 9, 2024.

Biography

Drulis has been a resident of Raritan Township, New Jersey, and attended Rutgers University. She has worked on the staff of politicians Bob Smith and Joseph V. Egan in the General Assembly.^[1]

In 2018, Drulis served as the Political Director for Tom Malinowski's congressional campaign. She then served as his district director in his office, where she developed and managed a constituent services program that assisted roughly 12,000 individual constituents across the district.^[2]

New Jersey General Assembly

2023

Drulis and her incumbent running mate Roy Freiman defeated Republicans Ross Traphagen and Grace Zang in the 2023 New Jersey General Assembly election.^[3]^[4]

Tenure

Drulis was sworn in January 9, 2024, becoming the first Democrat from Hunterdon County to be elected to the State Legislature in more than 40 years.^[2]

District 16

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[5] The representatives from the 16th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[6]

Senator Andrew Zwicker (D)
Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis (D)
Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D)

Electoral history

Assembly

16th Legislative District General Election, 2023^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Roy Freiman (incumbent)	34,188	28.3
	Democratic	Mitchelle Drulis	33,642	27.9
	Republican	Grace Zhang	26,558	22.0
	Republican	Ross Traphagen	26,293	21.8
Total votes			120,663	100.0
	Democratic hold
	Democratic hold

References

^ Election profile: 16th Legislative District, NJ Spotlight News. Accessed January 9, 2024. "I attended Rutgers University, where I was an Eagleton Institute of Politics undergraduate associate, and I live in Raritan Township with my husband, Michael Drulis, and our daughter. Political background: I started my career as a legislative aide for then assemblyman, now state senator, Bob Smith. I went on to become chief of staff for Assemblyman Joe Egan, serving for over a decade, and then served as district director for congressman Tom Malinowski until January of 2023."
^ ^a ^b "Drulis Takes Oath Of Office For New Jersey General Assembly, Representing The 16th Legislative District", New Jersey Assembly Democrats. Accessed January 19, 2024. "Long-time legislative staffer Mitchelle Drulis received the oath of office Tuesday from Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin. Drulis is the first Democrat from Hunterdon County to be elected to the State Legislature in over 40 years. She joins Assemblyman Roy Freiman in representing the 16th Legislative District.... In 2018, Drulis served as the Political Director for Tom Malinowski’s congressional campaign. She then took on the mantle of District Director in his office, where she developed and managed a constituent services program that assisted roughly 12,000 individual constituents across the district."
^ Connolly, John. "NJ election results 2023: State Senate, Assembly seats decided", The Record, November 9, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Official List Candidates for General Assembly for General Election November 7, 2023, New Jersey Department of State, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
^ Legislative Roster for District 16, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed September 28, 2022.