New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
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| New Jersey's 12th Congressional District |
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| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 23, 2026 |
| Primary: June 2, 2026 General: November 3, 2026 |
| How to vote |
| Poll times:
6 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Race ratings |
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th New Jersey elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 |
A Democratic Party primary takes place on June 2, 2026, in New Jersey's 12th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.
| Candidate filing deadline | Primary election | General election |
|---|---|---|
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. New Jersey utilizes a semi-closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is generally limited to registered party members. Unaffiliated voters can register as party members at the polls on primary election day. Otherwise, a voter must indicate his or her party preference (e.g., via an updated voter registration) no later than the 55th day preceding the primary in order to vote in that party's primary.[1]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
This is one of 51 open races for the U.S. House of Representatives this year in which an incumbent is not running for re-election. Across the country, 21 Democrats and 30 Republicans are not running for re-election. In 2024, 45 incumbents — 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans — did not seek re-election.
This page focuses on New Jersey's 12th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)
- New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026
Candidates and election results
Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:
- Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
- Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies
Democratic primary
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 12 on June 2, 2026.
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Submitted Biography: "My name is Kyle Little I am a 36-year-old openly gay African American man and the owner of Isolation Fitness, which operates studios in Metuchen and Edison, New Jersey. I also serve as an adjunct college professor at Kean University. Originally from Union County, I graduated from Linden High School in 2006, and I earned my master’s degree from Montclair State University in 2014. I am running for Congress with the goal of rebranding and bringing change to the Democratic Party by advocating for better justice, equality, and rights for all Americans. If elected, he would become the first Black openly gay man to serve in Congress from the state of New Jersey."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in New Jersey
Campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Adams | Democratic Party | $10,317 | $317 | $10,000 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Susan Altman | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Michael Anderson | Democratic Party | $1,275 | $290 | $985 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Brad Cohen | Democratic Party | $279,256 | $16,682 | $262,574 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Elijah Dixon | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Adam Hamawy | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Raymond Heck | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Kyle Little | Democratic Party | $17,084 | $22,073 | $2,124 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Adrian Mapp | Democratic Party | $82,731 | $3,532 | $79,199 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Tennille R. McCoy | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Rick Morales | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Verlina Reynolds-Jackson | Democratic Party | $70,295 | $8,026 | $62,269 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Shanel Robinson | Democratic Party | $56,892 | $1,075 | $55,817 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Squire Servance | Democratic Party | $34,478 | $26,290 | $8,188 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Sujit Singh | Democratic Party | $7,048 | $1,746 | $10,604 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Iziah Thompson | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jay Vaingankar | Democratic Party | $154,109 | $10,815 | $143,293 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Samuel Wang | Democratic Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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District analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.
- District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
- Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
- State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.
Partisan Voter Index
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+13. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 12th the 105th most Democratic district nationally.[2]
2020 presidential election results
The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.
Kamala Harris  | Donald Trump  |
|---|---|
| 61.0% | 37.0% |
Presidential voting history
New Jersey presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 16 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of New Jersey's congressional delegation as of January 2026.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from New Jersey | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Republican | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 12 | 14 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in New Jersey's top four state executive offices as of February 2026.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Mikie Sherrill |
| Lieutenant Governor | Dale Caldwell |
| Secretary of State | Dale Caldwell |
| Attorney General | Jennifer Davenport |
State legislature
New Jersey State Senate
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 25 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | |
New Jersey General Assembly
| Party | As of January 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 57 | |
| Republican Party | 23 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Trifecta control
New Jersey Party Control: 1992-2025
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas • Eight years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Assembly | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Ballot access
The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in New Jersey in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in New Jersey, click here.
| Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source |
| New Jersey | U.S. House | Ballot-qualified party | 5% of the entire vote cast for members of the General Assembly at the last preceding general election, held for the election of all of the members of the General Assembly, in the district | N/A | 3/23/2026 | Source |
| New Jersey | U.S. House | Unaffiliated | 5% of the entire vote cast for members of the General Assembly at the last preceding general election, held for the election of all of the members of the General Assembly, in the district | N/A | 6/2/2026 | Source |
See also
- New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)
- New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2026 (June 2 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2026
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026
External links
Footnotes
