Chigozie Onyema
Chigozie U. Onyema (Democratic Party) is a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, representing District 28. He assumed office on January 13, 2026. His current term ends on January 11, 2028.
Onyema (Democratic Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 28. He won in the general election on November 4, 2025.
Biography
Chigozie Onyema was born in Newark, New Jersey. He earned an associate degree from Essex County College, a bachelor's degree from Howard University, and a law degree from New York University School of Law. Onyema's career experience includes working as an attorney, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and senior director for the Sustainable Cities program at PolicyLink.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2025
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 28 (2 seats)
Incumbent Cleopatra Tucker and Chigozie U. Onyema won election in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 28 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Cleopatra Tucker (D) | 50.4 | 47,998 |
| ✔ |  | Chigozie U. Onyema (D) | 49.6 | 47,263 |
| Total votes: 95,261 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 28 (2 seats)
Incumbent Cleopatra Tucker and Chigozie U. Onyema defeated incumbent Garnet Hall in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 28 on June 10, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cleopatra Tucker | 38.7 | 14,108 |
| ✔ | | Chigozie U. Onyema | 36.9 | 13,456 |
| Garnet Hall | 24.5 | 8,932 | ||
| Total votes: 36,496 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nadirah Brown (D)
Republican primary election
No Republican candidates ran in the primary.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Willie Jetti (R)
- Toye Kumolu (R)
- Che' J.T. Colter (R)
Endorsements
Onyema received the following endorsements.
2022
See also: City elections in Newark, New Jersey (2022)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Newark City Council West Ward
Dupre Kelly defeated Chigozie U. Onyema in the general runoff election for Newark City Council West Ward on June 14, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dupre Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 58.7 | 1,973 |
| Chigozie U. Onyema (Nonpartisan) | 41.3 | 1,391 | |
| Total votes: 3,364 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
General election
General election for Newark City Council West Ward
The following candidates ran in the general election for Newark City Council West Ward on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Dupre Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 38.0 | 1,489 |
| ✔ | | Chigozie U. Onyema (Nonpartisan) | 29.0 | 1,137 |
| Oscar S. James II (Nonpartisan) | 13.0 | 510 | ||
| LaVita Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 9.7 | 380 | ||
| Lyndon F. Brown (Nonpartisan) | 8.0 | 313 | ||
 | Michelle Middleton (Nonpartisan) | 2.3 | 90 | |
| Total votes: 3,919 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chigozie U. Onyema did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Chigozie U. Onyema did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
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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.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate New Jersey General Assembly District 28 |
Officeholder New Jersey General Assembly District 28 |
Footnotes
