New Jersey's 6th Congressional District

New Jersey's 6th Congressional District

Incumbent

Frank Pallone Jr.

Assumed office: January 3, 1993

New Jersey's 6th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Frank Pallone Jr. (D).

As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey representatives represented an average of 774,541 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 733,958 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D), Katie Bansil (D), John Hsu (D), Hillary Herzig (R), and Fahad Akhtar (Common Sense Independent Party) are running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Frank Pallone Jr. (D)
		Katie Bansil (D)
		John Hsu (D)
		Hillary Herzig (R)
		Fahad Akhtar (Common Sense Independent Party)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Scott Fegler (R), Fahad Akhtar (Common Sense Independent Party), Herb Tarbous (G), and Matthew Amitrano (L) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr. (D)	56.1	170,275
		Scott Fegler (R)	40.3	122,519
		Fahad Akhtar (Common Sense Independent Party)	1.6	4,871
		Herb Tarbous (G)	1.4	4,246
		Matthew Amitrano (L)	0.6	1,770

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 303,681
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justin Maldonado (Independent)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated John Hsu (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr.	84.0	36,649
		John Hsu	16.0	6,992

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,641
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Scott Fegler (R) defeated Gregg Mele (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Scott Fegler	81.6	15,215
		Gregg Mele	18.4	3,440

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,655
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Brian Largey (R)

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Susan Kiley (R), Tara Fisher (L), Inder Soni (New Jersey First), and Eric Antisell (Move Everyone Forward) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr. (D)	57.5	106,238
		Susan Kiley (R)	41.0	75,839
		Tara Fisher (L)	0.7	1,361
	Submit photo	Inder Soni (New Jersey First)	0.5	947
		Eric Antisell (Move Everyone Forward)	0.3	534

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 184,919
= 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.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr.	100.0	30,534

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,534
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sherry Euvin (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Susan Kiley (R) defeated Rik Mehta (R) and Tom Toomey (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Susan Kiley	56.8	10,076
		Rik Mehta	26.7	4,735
		Tom Toomey	16.4	2,913

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,724
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gregg Mele (R)

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Christian Onuoha (R) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr. (D)	61.2	199,648
		Christian Onuoha (R)	38.8	126,760

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 326,408
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Russell Cirincione (D) and Amani Al-Khatahtbeh (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr.	79.2	56,660
		Russell Cirincione	17.0	12,139
	Submit photo	Amani Al-Khatahtbeh	3.8	2,743

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,542
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Hsu (D)
• Zac Roeill (D)
• Javahn Walker (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Christian Onuoha (R) defeated Sammy Gindi (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christian Onuoha (Write-in)	100.0	508
	Submit photo	Sammy Gindi (Write-in)	0.0	0

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 508
= 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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See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Rich Pezzullo (R) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr. (D)	63.6	140,752
		Rich Pezzullo (R)	36.4	80,443

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 221,195 (100% precincts reporting)
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Javahn Walker (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallone Jr.	86.2	23,621
	Submit photo	Javahn Walker	13.8	3,770

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 27,391
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6

Rich Pezzullo (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 6 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rich Pezzullo	100.0	9,827

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 9,827
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Previous election results

2016

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Brent Sonnek-Schmelz (R), Judi Shamy (L), and Rajit Malliah (G) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent in June. Pallone won re-election in the November 8 election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone Incumbent	63.7%	167,895
	Republican	Brent Sonnek-Schmelz	34.9%	91,908
	Green	Rajit Malliah	0.7%	1,912
	Libertarian	Judi Shamy	0.7%	1,720
Total Votes				263,435
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2014

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014

New Jersey's 6th Congressional District held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. (D) defeated Anthony Wilkinson (R) and Dorit Goikhman (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone Incumbent	59.9%	72,190
	Republican	Anthony Wilkinson	38.9%	46,891
	Libertarian	Dorit Goikhman	1.1%	1,376
Total Votes				120,457
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2012

See also: New Jersey's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

New Jersey's 6th Congressional District held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Frank Pallone Jr. won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone Incumbent	63.3%	151,782
	Republican	Anna Little	35.2%	84,360
	Libertarian	Len Flynn	0.6%	1,392
	Independent	Mac Dara Lyden	0.3%	830
	Independent	Herbert Tarbous	0.2%	406
	Independent	Karen Zaletel	0.4%	868
Total Votes				239,638
Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Anna C. Little (R), Jack Freudenheim (Independent) and Karen Anne Zaletel (Green Tea Patriots) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	54.7%	81,933
	Republican	Anna C. Little	43.7%	65,413
	Independent	Jack Freudenheim	0.9%	1,299
	Green Tea Patriots	Karen Anne Zaletel	0.7%	1,017
Total Votes				149,662

2008
On November 4, 2008, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Robert E. McLeod (R) and Herb Tarbous (Regular Independent) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	66.9%	164,077
	Republican	Robert E. McLeod	31.6%	77,469
	Regular Independent	Herb Tarbous	1.4%	3,531
Total Votes				245,077

2006
On November 7, 2006, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Leigh Ann Bellew (R) and Herbert L. Tarbous (Diversity is Strength) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	68.6%	98,615
	Republican	Leigh Ann Bellew	30.3%	43,539
	Diversity is Strength	Herbert L. Tarbous	1.1%	1,619
Total Votes				143,773

2004
On November 2, 2004, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sylvester Fernandez (R), Virginia A. Flynn (Independent/Libertarian) and Mac Dara F.X. Lyden (Independent/Help Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Union Residents) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	66.9%	153,981
	Republican	Sylvester Fernandez	30.8%	70,942
	Independent/Libertarian	Virginia A.Flynn	1.2%	2,829
	Independent/Help Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Union Residents	Mac Dara F.X. Lyden	1%	2,399
Total Votes				230,151

2002
On November 5, 2002, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Anne Sumers (D) and Michael J. Cino (Independent/Lower Tax Independent) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	59.5%	118,881
	Republican	Anne Sumers	38.3%	76,504
	Independent/Lower Tax Independent	Michael J. Cino	2.2%	4,466
Total Votes				199,851

2000
On November 7, 2000, Frank Pallone won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Brian T. Kennedy (R), Earl Gray (I), Karen Zaletel (I) and Sylvia Kuzmak (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 6 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Frank Pallone incumbent	67.5%	141,698
	Republican	Brian T. Kennedy	29.8%	62,454
	Independent	Earl Gray	2%	4,252
	Independent	Karen Zaletel	0.5%	1,120
	Independent	Sylvia Kuzmak	0.2%	328
Total Votes				209,852

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2020 census

The New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission enacted a new congressional map on December 22, 2021. This map took effect for New Jersey's 2022 congressional elections. The commission voted 7-6 to approve the Democratic map proposal, with all six Democratic members and the tiebreaker, former New Jersey Supreme Court Judge John Wallace voting to approve. All six Republican members of the commission voted against the map.

How does redistricting in New Jersey work? In New Jersey, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by two distinct politician commissions. The congressional redistricting commission comprises the following 13 members:

1. The majority and minority leaders of each chamber of the New Jersey State Legislature appoint two commissioners a piece (for a total of eight members).
2. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint two members to the commission (for a total of four members). Commissioners appointed by the political parties cannot be members of Congress or congressional employees.
3. The first 12 commissioners appoint the last member. This member cannot have held public office in the state within the previous five-year period. If the first 12 commissioners cannot agree on an appointment, they must submit two names to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The court must then appoint the final commissioner.

If the congressional redistricting commission fails to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, it must submit two plans to the state Supreme Court, which must in turn select from those two plans a final map.

The state legislative redistricting commission comprises 10 members. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint five members to the commission. In the event that this commission is unable to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, the state Supreme Court may appoint a tie-breaking member.

State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:

1. Districts must be contiguous.
2. Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
3. Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."

There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 6th Congressional District of New Jersey after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2010 census

In 2011, the New Jersey State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 6th the 161st most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 6th the 144th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 59.0%-39.7%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 6th the 142nd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 59.0% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 39.7%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+9. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 9 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 6th Congressional District the 132nd most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.99. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.99 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in New Jersey
• New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
• New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
• New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2020
• New Jersey's 6th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 6

Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Vacant

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (3)

Vacancies (1)