Bateman served on the Branchburg Township Committee from 1983 to 1988 and was its Mayor in 1986. He then served on the Somerset CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders from 1988 to 1994 and was its Director in 1992. After being elected to the New Jersey General Assembly, Bateman was appointed to the Task Force to Study Homeowner Associations from 1996 to 1997 and the Delaware and Raritan Transportation Safety Study Commission from 1995 to 1996.[2]
New Jersey State Assembly
Bateman served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1994 to 2008, where he was the Assembly's Assistant Republican Leader from 2004 to 2005, was the Assistant Republican Whip from 2002 to 2003, the Majority Whip in 1996 and was the Assistant Majority Whip from 1994 to 1995. Bateman served in the Assembly on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee, the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee and the Legislative Services Commission.[2]
New Jersey State Senate
In the 2007 legislative elections, Bateman won the State Senate seat of retiring Senator Walter J. Kavanaugh.[4] Prior to the 2011 redistricting, the 16th district consisted of most of Somerset County. Following the 2011 redistricting, towns in northern and eastern parts of Somerset (including Bridgewater) were removed, and were replaced by a portion of Hunterdon County, and the Democratic towns of South Brunswick and Princeton. This made the 16th district a swing district.[5] He fended off a challenge by Democrat Maureen Vella by defeating her by 9 points in 2011.[6] His 2013 election winning margin was larger as he defeated Christian Mastondrea by 20 points.[7]
During the 2019 budget fight, Democrats defied Governor Phil Murphy and passed a budget without his proposed millionaire's tax. Bateman was one of six Republicans to vote for the budget.[8]
On January 27, 2021, Bateman announced that he would be retiring and not run for re-election to the State Senate in 2021.[9]
Bateman is a moderate Republican. He has been known to break with his party and vote with Democrats on environmental issues, as he is a believer in climate change. In addition, in each of his elections to the state legislature, Bateman received the endorsement of New Jersey environmental activist and New Jersey Sierra Club director Jeff Tittel, one of few Republicans that he has endorsed. Tittel and the Sierra Club awarded Bateman their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.[10]
^Hirsch, Rod. "Kip Bateman Reflects on 39 Years of Public Service to Somerset County", TAP into Somerville, January 9, 2022. Accessed December 5, 2022. "The elder Bateman has always been his son's hero, a newspaper publisher and public relations executive who ran for Governor of New Jersey in 1977, losing to Democrat Brendan Byrne. His son followed in his footsteps - Ray Bateman was elected to the Assembly in 1958 and the state Senate in 1967. Both were born in Somerville. Both attended Somerville High School."
