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New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Republican primary)
- Primary date: July 7
- Primary type: Semi-closed
- Registration deadline(s): June 16
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: Pending
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): July 7 (received)
- Voter ID: No ID
- Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
2022 →
← 2018
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| New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: March 30, 2020 |
| Primary: July 7, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Andrew Kim (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in New Jersey |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th New Jersey elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
David Richter defeated Kate Gibbs in the Republican primary for New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District on July 7, 2020. Richter received 61% of the vote to Gibbs' 39%.
Richter, former CEO of Hill International, said Hill grew from a struggling business into a public company with 4,300 employees during his tenure and that he had a record of creating public works and infrastructure jobs.[1]
Gibbs, a former Burlington County freeholder and the deputy director of the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative Local 825, said her record included passing an Equal Pay for Equal Work resolution, creating jobs, and building infrastructure. She said she was one of the youngest women ever elected to countywide office in the state.
Click here for more on candidates' backgrounds and key messages.
New Jersey's 3rd District covers most of Burlington County and part of Ocean County. The Burlington County Republican Committee endorsed Gibbs, and the Ocean County Republican Committee endorsed Richter. Gibbs was also endorsed by the Republican Main Street Partnership PAC and state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. (R).[2] Richter received endorsements from the National Rifle Association and state Senate Deputy Minority Leader Robert Singer (R).[3]
Richter was initially running in the 2nd District primary. He switched to the 3rd District race after 2nd District incumbent Jeff Van Drew changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in December 2019 and received President Donald Trump's (R) endorsement.[4]
The candidates criticized one another's backgrounds. Richter highlighted charges Gibbs received and criticized her record as freeholder, while Gibbs questioned Richter's business record and criticized him for switching districts. Click here to learn more about candidates' criticisms and responses.
Incumbent Andrew Kim (D) defeated then-incumbent Tom MacArthur (R) in the 2018 election 50% to 49%. The 3rd District was one of 30 House Districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 that voted for Trump in 2016. Trump received 51% of the vote to Hillary Clinton's (D) 45% in the 3rd District.[5]
This page focuses on New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)
- New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
New Jersey modified its primary election process as follows:
- Election postponements: The primary election was postponed from June 2 to July 7.
- Candidate filing procedures: Candidates were allowed to collect and submit petition signatures via electronic means.
- Voting procedures: All registered, active Democratic and Republican received mail-in ballots automatically. Unaffiliated and inactive voters received mail-in ballot applications automatically.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Candidates and election results
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Richter  | 61.1 | 35,824 |
 | Kate Gibbs | 38.9 | 22,768 | |
| Total votes: 58,592 | |||
| = 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
- David Schmidt (R)
- John Novak (R)
- Anthony Porto (R)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[6] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: Burlington County Board of Freeholders (2016-2019)
Biography: Gibbs received a bachelor's degree from The American University and an M.B.A. from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. Gibbs was executive director of the Burlington County Republican Committee from 2010 to 2014. She was a member of the Board of Trustees of Rowan College at Burlington County. Gibbs served as director of the Burlington County Board of Freeholders in 2018. She lost her re-election bid for the board in 2018. As of the primary, she worked as the deputy director of the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative Local 825.
Show sources
Sources: Kate Gibbs' 2020 campaign website, "Home," accessed July 1, 2020; Kate Gibbs' 2020 campaign website, "Kate’s New TV Ad Speaks Directly to Voters," June 24, 2020; Burlington County Times, "Gibbs says voters want ‘fighter’ to represent them in Congress," February 23, 2020; Patch, "NJ 3rd District House Election Profile: Kate Gibbs," June 29, 2020
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 in 2020.
Party: Republican Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "Richter is the former CEO of global construction management firm Hill International. During his time at the company, Hill grew from a struggling family business with less than 300 employees into a successful public company with more than 4,300 employees. A lifelong Republican, Richter grew up in and has spent most of his life living and working in the Third District. He earned two bachelor's degrees and a law degree from Penn as well as master's degrees from Oxford and Harvard. Richter and his wife Michelle, who have been married for 20 years, are the parents of four daughters."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 in 2020.
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[7] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[8] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kate Gibbs | Republican Party | $303,870 | $302,559 | $1,312 | As of December 31, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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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Campaign tactics and strategies
Candidate criticisms
The candidates criticized one another's backgrounds. Gibbs questioned Richter's business record, including saying that he sent American jobs to China. She also criticized him for switching congressional districts, calling him an "entitled rich guy who’s bored and needs validation" through a title.[9] Richter said he grew up in the 3rd District and that no American jobs were moved overseas at his company.[10]
Richter said Gibbs raised taxes during her time as freeholder and criticized her for receiving a shoplifting charge in 2006, a marijuana and hashish possession charge in 2008, and a charge for possessing alcohol on a beach in 2014. Richter said these events indicated "a pattern of reckless disregard for the law." Gibbs said the amount of money taxpayers paid to Burlington County decreased during her tenure and that she made mistakes in her youth.[9][10]
Primaries in New Jersey
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.[11][12]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[13]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[14][15][16]
| Race ratings: New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Likely Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Likely Democratic | Lean Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+2, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District the 220th most Republican nationally.[17]
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 0.96. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.96 points toward that party.[18]
District represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump in 2016
This district was one of 30 Democratic-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.
| 2020 Democratic-held U.S. House districts won by Donald Trump in 2016 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Incumbent | Ran in 2020? | 2018 congressional margin | 2016 presidential margin | 2012 presidential margin | ||||||||
| Arizona's 1st |  Tom O'Halleran |
Yes | Democrats+7.7 | Trump+1.1 | Romney+2.5 | ||||||||
| Georgia's 6th | Lucy McBath |
Yes | Democrats+1.0 | Trump+1.5 | Romney+23.3 | ||||||||
| Illinois' 14th | Lauren Underwood |
Yes | Democrats+5.0 | Trump+3.9 | Romney+10 | ||||||||
| Illinois' 17th | Cheri Bustos |
Yes | Democrats+24.2 | Trump+0.7 | Obama+17 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 1st | Abby Finkenauer |
Yes | Democrats+5.1 | Trump+3.5 | Obama+13.7 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 2nd | Dave Loebsack |
Retired | Democrats+5.2 | Trump+4.1 | Obama+13.1 | ||||||||
| Iowa's 3rd | Cindy Axne |
Yes | Democrats+2.2 | Trump+3.5 | Obama+4.2 | ||||||||
| Maine's 2nd | Jared Golden |
Yes | Democrats+1.3 | Trump+10.3 | Obama+8.6 | ||||||||
| Michigan's 8th | Elissa Slotkin |
Yes | Democrats+3.8 | Trump+6.7 | Romney+3.1 | ||||||||
| Michigan's 11th | Haley Stevens |
Yes | Democrats+6.7 | Trump+4.4 | Romney+5.4 | ||||||||
| Minnesota's 2nd | Angie Craig |
Yes | Democrats+5.5 | Trump+1.2 | Obama+0.1 | ||||||||
| Minnesota's 7th | Collin Peterson |
Yes | Democrats+4.3 | Trump+30.8 | Romney+9.8 | ||||||||
| Nevada's 3rd | Susie Lee |
Yes | Democrats+9.1 | Trump+1.0 | Obama+0.8 | ||||||||
| New Hampshire's 1st | Chris Pappas |
Yes | Democrats+8.6 | Trump+1.6 | Obama+1.6 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 3rd | Andrew Kim |
Yes | Democrats+1.3 | Trump+6.2 | Obama+4.6 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 5th | Josh Gottheimer |
Yes | Democrats+13.7 | Trump+1.1 | Romney+3.0 | ||||||||
| New Jersey's 11th | Mikie Sherrill |
Yes | Democrats+14.6 | Trump+0.9 | Romney+5.8 | ||||||||
| New Mexico's 2nd | Xochitl Torres Small |
Yes | Democrats+1.9 | Trump+10.2 | Romney+6.8 | ||||||||
| New York's 11th | Max Rose |
Yes | Democrats+6.5 | Trump+9.8 | Obama+4.3 | ||||||||
| New York's 18th | Sean Maloney |
Yes | Democrats+10.9 | Trump+1.9 | Obama+4.3 | ||||||||
| New York's 19th | Antonio Delgado |
Yes | Democrats+5.2 | Trump+6.8 | Obama+6.2 | ||||||||
| New York's 22nd | Anthony Brindisi |
Yes | Democrats+1.8 | Trump+15.5 | Romney+0.4 | ||||||||
| Oklahoma's 5th | Kendra Horn |
Yes | Democrats+1.4 | Trump+13.4 | Romney+18.4 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania's 8th | Matt Cartwright |
Yes | Democrats+9.3 | Trump+9.6 | Obama+11.9 | ||||||||
| Pennsylvania's 17th | Conor Lamb |
Yes | Democrats+12.5 | Trump+2.6 | Romney+4.5 | ||||||||
| South Carolina's 1st | Joe Cunningham |
Yes | Democrats+1.4 | Trump+13.1 | Romney+18.1 | ||||||||
| Utah's 4th | Ben McAdams |
Yes | Democrats+0.3 | Trump+6.7 | Romney+37.0 | ||||||||
| Virginia's 2nd | Elaine Luria |
Yes | Democrats+2.2 | Trump+3.4 | Romney+2.3 | ||||||||
| Virginia's 7th | Abigail Spanberger |
Yes | Democrats+1.9 | Trump+6.5 | Romney+10.5 | ||||||||
| Wisconsin's 3rd | Ron Kind |
Yes | Democrats+19.3 | Trump+4.5 | Obama+11 | ||||||||
| Source: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Daily Kos | |||||||||||||
Click here to see the five U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
Two of 21 New Jersey counties—9.5 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
| Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Trump margin of victory in 2016 | Obama margin of victory in 2012 | Obama margin of victory in 2008 | ||||
| Gloucester County, New Jersey | 0.48% | 10.77% | 12.16% | ||||
| Salem County, New Jersey | 15.00% | 1.31% | 3.92% | ||||
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won New Jersey with 55.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 41.4 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, New Jersey voted Democratic 46.67 percent of the time and Republican 53.33 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, New Jersey voted Democratic all five times.
District election history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Andrew Kim defeated incumbent Tom MacArthur and Lawrence Berlinski Jr. in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrew Kim (D) | 50.0 | 153,473 |
 | Tom MacArthur (R) | 48.7 | 149,500 | |
 | Lawrence Berlinski Jr. (Constitution Party) | 1.3 | 3,902 | |
| Total votes: 306,875 (100.00% 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Andrew Kim advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrew Kim | 100.0 | 28,514 |
| Total votes: 28,514 | |||
| = 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
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3
Incumbent Tom MacArthur advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 3 on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tom MacArthur | 100.0 | 25,612 |
| Total votes: 25,612 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Tom MacArthur (R) defeated Frederick John Lavergne (D) and Lawrence Berlinski Jr. (Constitution Party) in the general election on November 8, 2016. MacArthur faced no challenger in the Republican primary, while Lavergne defeated Jim Keady in the Democratic primary. The primary elections took place on June 7, 2016. MacArthur won re-election in the November 8 election.[19][20][21]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Tom MacArthur Incumbent |
59.3% | 194,596 | |
| Democratic | Frederick John Lavergne | 38.9% | 127,526 | |
| Constitution | Lawrence Berlinski Jr. | 1.8% | 5,938 | |
| Total Votes | 328,060 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Frederick Lavergne |
62.8% | 32,963 | ||
| Jim Keady | 37.2% | 19,526 | ||
| Total Votes | 52,489 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections |
||||
2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom MacArthur |
54% | 100,471 | |
| Democratic | Aimee Belgard | 44.4% | 82,537 | |
| Democratic-Republican | Frederick John LaVergne | 1.7% | 3,095 | |
| Total Votes | 186,103 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Division of Elections | ||||
See also
- New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primary)
- New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2020 (July 7 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in New Jersey, 2020 (July 7 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NJ Spotlight, "Look for Primaries to Be No Holds Barred in NJ’s 2nd and 3rd Districts," June 25, 2020
- ↑ Kate Gibbs' 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 3, 2020
- ↑ David Richter's 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 3, 2020
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Richter switches districts, will run against Kim," January 27, 2020
- ↑ Daily Kos, ""Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2016, 2012, and 2008,"" accessed June 24, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 New Jersey Globe, "Richter, Gibbs spar in NJ-3 debate," June 16, 2020
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ellwood City Ledger, "CD3 primary: Facts behind the ads in the Gibbs-Richter race," June 14, 2020
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed September 27, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Statutes & Rules § 19:23-45," accessed September 27, 2024
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Candidates for House of Representatives for Primary Election 6/7/2016," accessed April 5, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "Candidates for House of Representatives," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "New Jersey House 03 Results," November 8, 2016
