Lawmaker Defeated by One of the Women He Mocked

When New Jersey lawmaker John Carman wondered, via meme, "Will the women's protest end in time for them to cook dinner?" it angered many participants in the January Women's March. On Tuesday, one of them got their revenge. The Inquirer reports 32-year-old Democrat Ashley Bennett defeated Republican Carman for his seat on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders by nearly 1,000 votes out of the 14,000 cast in a strongly Republican district. The board oversees the government in Atlantic County, including Atlantic City, according to the AP. "I am beyond speechless and incredibly grateful to serve my community," Bennett, a psychiatric emergency screener, tells the Inquirer. "I never imagined I would run for office.”

Bennett decided to go for it after Carman, 58, posted the meme on Facebook. "Elected officials shouldn't be on social media mocking and belittling people who are expressing their concerns about their community and the nation," she said prior to the election. Voters seemed to agree. "Those statements that Carman made really disappointed women in the community," one resident says. Carman had apologized for sharing the meme but added the women he knows are "strong and confident" enough to not be offended. A spokesperson for Bennett says she will focus on foreclosures and the economy. "She is ready to put in the hours to improve the lives of everyone in her district—and she doesn't plan on making it home in time to cook dinner any time soon," the spokesperson says. (More New Jersey stories.)