Andrew Zwicker is exactly the kind of person you wish were in elected office but almost never is. He’s not only a physicist, he’s the Head of Science Education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Unlike the Republicans who treat science as a four-letter word, Zwicker, a Democrat, is a proud advocate of the STEM fields.

In 2015, when he ran for the New Jersey General Assembly, he beat a Republican incumbent by one of the narrowest margins you’ll ever see: less than 100 votes. But it was enough to put him in office.

In 2017, when he ran for re-election, he and his Democratic colleague Roy Freiman won the two seats with comfortable margins over their GOP opponents.

Last night, both Zwicker and Freiman were on the ballot, and once again, they both won comfortable victories:

Why mention him on this site? Because Zwicker is an open atheist who was endorsed by the Freethought Equality Fund PAC.

Andrew Zwicker is a scientist, legislator, and atheist, seeking re-election the New Jersey General Assembly in District 16. Assemblyman Zwicker is the far too rare scientist-legislator. He is a physicist and Head of Science Education at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. His victory in 2015 was the biggest upset in New Jersey when he won by less than 100 votes. His re-election win in 2017 was more comfortable, but still close and this year he has one of the most competitive races in NJ. As a scientist, Andrew promotes public policy using evidence-based decision making, not ideology, and is focused on rebuilding the state’s infrastructure and economy, protecting the environment, and protecting our democracy.

Zwicker is one of approximately 50 openly non-religious state legislators in the country. Voters in his district either appreciate that or they aren’t bothered by it enough to vote for an opponent. Either way, it’s a victory for reason, science, and rational policymaking.

(Portions of this article were published earlier)

