Bob Smith (New Jersey)
2002 - Present
2028
23
Bob Smith (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Jersey State Senate, representing District 17. He assumed office in 2002. His current term ends on January 11, 2028.
Smith (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Jersey State Senate to represent District 17. He won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Smith was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1986 to 2001 and served as deputy minority leader.[1]
Biography
Smith earned his B.A. in history from the University of Scranton, his M.S. degrees in chemistry from the University of Scranton and environmental science from Rutgers University, and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.[2] His professional experience includes working as an attorney for his law firm, Bob Smith and Associates.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
2020-2021
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Environment and Energy, Chair |
| • Judiciary |
2014 legislative session
In the 2014 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2014 |
|---|
| • Environment and Energy, Chair |
| • Judiciary |
2010-2011
In the 2010-2011 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| New Jersey committee assignments, 2010 |
|---|
| • Environment, Chair |
| • Judiciary |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2023
See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2023
General election
General election for New Jersey State Senate District 17
Incumbent Bob Smith defeated William Mikita Jr. in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bob Smith (D) | 72.8 | 20,643 |
| William Mikita Jr. (R) | 27.2 | 7,718 | ||
| Total votes: 28,361 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17
Incumbent Bob Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bob Smith | 100.0 | 9,189 |
| Total votes: 9,189 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17
William Mikita Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | William Mikita Jr. | 100.0 | 1,734 | |
| Total votes: 1,734 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.
2021
See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021
General election
General election for New Jersey State Senate District 17
Incumbent Bob Smith defeated James Abate in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bob Smith (D) | 69.1 | 32,455 |
| James Abate (R) | 30.9 | 14,505 | ||
| Total votes: 46,960 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17
Incumbent Bob Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bob Smith | 100.0 | 9,158 |
| Total votes: 9,158 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17
James Abate advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 17 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | James Abate | 100.0 | 2,887 | |
| Total votes: 2,887 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2017
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2017
General election
Elections for the New Jersey State Senate took place in 2017. All 40 seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for the primary election was April 3, 2017.[3][4] Incumbent Bob Smith (D) defeated Daryl Kipnis (R) in the New Jersey State Senate District 17 general election.[5][6]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 17 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Bob Smith Incumbent |
71.44% | 29,816 | |
| Republican | Daryl Kipnis | 28.56% | 11,921 | |
| Total Votes | 41,737 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||||
Democratic primary election
Incumbent Bob Smith defeated William Irwin in the New Jersey State Senate District 17 Democratic primary election.[7]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Bob Smith Incumbent |
71.98% | 10,103 |
| William Irwin | 28.02% | 3,933 |
| Total Votes | 14,036 | |
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
Republican primary election
Daryl Kipnis ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 17 Republican primary election.[7]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Daryl Kipnis | ||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
2013
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013
Smith won re-election in the 2013 election for New Jersey State Senate District 17. Smith was unopposed in the June 4 Democratic primary and defeated Brian D. Levine (R) in the general election, which took place on November 5, 2013.[8][9][10][11]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 17 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Bob Smith Incumbent |
59.8% | 22,920 | |
| Republican | Brian D. Levine | 40.2% | 15,403 | |
| Total Votes | 38,323 | |||
Endorsements
In 2013, Smith’s endorsements included the following:[12][13]
- The New Jersey AFL-CIO
- The Sierra Club
2011
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011
Smith won re-election to the District 17 State Senate seat in the 2011 election. He ran unopposed in the June 7 Democratic primary election. Smith defeated Jordan Rickards (R) in the general election, which took place on November 8, 2011.[14]
| New Jersey State Senate District 17 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Bob Smith Incumbent |
64% | 15,507 | |
| Republican | Jordan Rickards | 36% | 8,715 | |
| Total Votes | 24,222 | |||
Endorsements
Smith was endorsed by:
2007
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2007
In 2007, Smith was re-elected to the New Jersey State Senate District 17. Smith (D) finished with 16,898 votes and was followed by John Costello (R) with 10,506 votes. Smith raised $848,585 for his campaign fund.[16]
| New Jersey Senate 2007 General Election, District 17 (2007) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Bob Smith (D)
|
16,898 | |||
| John Costello (R) | 10,506 | |||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bob Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Bob Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of New Jersey scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9 to December 19. |
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 10 to January 8.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 11 to December 31. |
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 4 to January 11.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 14 to December 17.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9, 2018, through January 14, 2020.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the New Jersey State Legislature was in session from January 9 through January 8, 2019.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 through January 9, 2018.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 217th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 12 through January 10, 2017.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 13 through December 31.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 216th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 14 through January 12, 2015.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, second annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 13, 2014.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 215th New Jersey State Legislature, first annual session, was in session from January 10 to January 9, 2013.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Ellen, have two children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Piscataway Township, New Jersey.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey State Legislature, "Biography of Bob Smith," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "2017 Primary Election Timeline," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List, Candidate for State Senate for Primary Election, June 6, 2017," accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for State Senate for General Election 11/07/2017 Election," accessed September 14, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2017 official general election results," accessed November 30, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 New Jersey Department of State, "Official Primary Results: State Senate," accessed July 14, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election candidates," September 9, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ PolitickerNJ.com, "AFL-CIO endorses candidates for elections," accessed September 3, 2013
- ↑ Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter, "NJ Chapter's State Legislative Endorsements," accessed September 4, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2011 Official State Senate Primary Candidate List," accessed April 10, 2014
- ↑ Politicker NJ, "2011 AFL-CIO endorsed candidates," accessed August 5, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money, "New Jersey State Senate 2007 general election results," accessed April 10, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
New Jersey State Senate District 17 2002-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
New Jersey General Assembly 1986-2001 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Mayor Piscataway Township 1981-1986 |
Succeeded by - |
