New Jersey's 4th Congressional District

New Jersey's 4th Congressional District

Incumbent

Chris Smith

Assumed office: January 3, 1981

New Jersey's 4th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Chris Smith (R).

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

2024

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2024

New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Republican primary)

New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (June 4 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Matthew Jenkins, John Morrison, and Barry Bendar in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith (R)	67.4	265,652
		Matthew Jenkins (D)	31.7	124,803
		John Morrison (L)	0.5	1,950
		Barry Bendar (G)	0.5	1,823

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 394,228
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Matthew Jenkins advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Jenkins	100.0	25,389

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,389
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Pam Daniels (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith defeated David Schmidt in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith	84.7	36,219
		David Schmidt	15.3	6,538

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,757
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith (R)	66.9	173,288
		Matthew Jenkins (D)	31.4	81,233
		Jason Cullen (L)	0.7	1,902
		David Schmidt (We the People)	0.5	1,197
		Hank Schroeder (Independent)	0.3	905
		Pam Daniels (Progress with Pam)	0.2	437

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 258,962
= 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 U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Matthew Jenkins advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matthew Jenkins	100.0	20,655

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,655
= 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Mike Crispi, Steve Gray, and Mike Blasi (Unofficially withdrew) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith	57.8	33,136
		Mike Crispi	36.8	21,115
		Steve Gray	4.0	2,305
		Mike Blasi (Unofficially withdrew)	1.3	751

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,307
= 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

• Robert Shapiro (R)
• David Burg (R)
• Tricia Flanagan (R)
• Daniel Francisco (R)

2020

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Stephanie Schmid, Hank Schroeder, Michael Rufo, and Andrew Pachuta in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith (R)	59.9	254,103
		Stephanie Schmid (D)	38.3	162,420
		Hank Schroeder (Make Change Happen Party)	0.8	3,195
		Michael Rufo (L)	0.6	2,583
		Andrew Pachuta (Common Sense Party)	0.5	2,067

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 424,368
= 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 U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Stephanie Schmid defeated Christine Conforti and David Applefield in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stephanie Schmid	67.4	38,444
		Christine Conforti	25.1	14,331
		David Applefield	7.4	4,244

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 57,019
= 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

• Jim Keady (D)
• Tiffany Kaszuba (D)
• Hassan Shehadeh (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith defeated Alter Eliezer Richter in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith	94.8	51,636
	Submit photo	Alter Eliezer Richter	5.2	2,853

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,489
= 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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2018

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith (R)	55.4	163,065
		Josh Welle (D)	43.1	126,766
		Michael Rufo (L)	0.5	1,387
		Edward Stackhouse Jr. (Ed the Barber Party)	0.4	1,064
		Brian Reynolds (Check This Column Party)	0.3	851
		Felicia Stoler (The Inclusion Candidate Party)	0.3	844
	Submit photo	Allen Yusufov (Time for Change Party)	0.1	371

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 294,348
= 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 4

Josh Welle defeated Jim Keady in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Welle	57.1	16,905
		Jim Keady	42.9	12,682

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 29,587
= 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

• Mike Keeling (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4

Incumbent Chris Smith advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 4 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Smith	100.0	25,930

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 25,930
= 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

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Chris Smith (R) defeated Lorna Phillipson (D), Jeremy Marcus (L), and Hank Schroeder (Economic Growth) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Smith defeated Bruce MacDonald in the Republican primary on June 7, 2016. Smith won re-election in the November 8 election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith Incumbent	63.7%	211,992
	Democratic	Lorna Phillipson	33.5%	111,532
	Economic Growth	Hank Schroeder	1.8%	5,840
	Libertarian	Jeremy Marcus	1%	3,320
Total Votes				332,684
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 Republican Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Chris Smith Incumbent	92%	41,789
Bruce MacDonald	8%	3,645
Total Votes		45,434
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2014

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 4th Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Chris Smith (R) defeated Ruben Scolavino (D) and Scott Neuman (Democratic-Republican) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith Incumbent	68%	118,826
	Democratic	Ruben Scolavino	31.1%	54,415
	Democratic-Republican	Scott Neuman	0.9%	1,608
Total Votes				174,849
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2012

See also: New Jersey's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 4th Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Chris Smith won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Brian Froelich	35.3%	107,991
	Republican	Chris Smith Incumbent	63.7%	195,145
	Independent	Leonard Marshall	1%	3,111
Total Votes				306,247
Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Howard Kleinhendler (D), Joe Siano (Libertarian), Steven Welzer (Green) and David R. Meiswinkle (American Renaissance Movement) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	69.4%	129,752
	Democratic	Howard Kleinhendler	27.9%	52,118
	Libertarian	Joe Siano	1.6%	2,912
	Green	Steven Welzer	0.8%	1,574
	American Renaissance Movement	David R. Meiswinkle	0.3%	582
Total Votes				186,938

2008
On November 4, 2008, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joshua M. Zeitz (D) and Steven Welzer (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	66.2%	202,972
	Democratic	Joshua M. Zeitz	32.6%	100,036
	Green	Steven Welzer	1.2%	3,543
Total Votes				306,551

2006
On November 7, 2006, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Carol E. Gay (D), Richard Edgar (L) and Louis B. Wary, Jr. (Remove Medical Negligence) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	65.7%	124,482
	Democratic	Carol E. Gay	33.2%	62,905
	Libertarian	Richard Edgar	0.8%	1,539
	Remove Medical Negligence	Louis B. Wary, Jr.	0.3%	614
Total Votes				189,540

2004
On November 2, 2004, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Amy Vasquez (D) and Richard Edgar (Independent/Libertarian) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	67%	192,671
	Democratic	Amy Vasquez	32.3%	92,826
	Independent/Libertarian	Richard Edgar	0.7%	2,056
Total Votes				287,553

2002
On November 5, 2002, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mary Brennan (D), Keith Quarles (Independent/Libertarian), Don Graham (Independent/NJ Conservative) and Hermann Winkelmann (Independent/Honesty, Humanity, Duty) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	66%	114,293
	Democratic	Mary Brennan	32.3%	55,967
	Independent/Libertarian	Keith Quarles	0.7%	1,211
	Independent/NJ Conservative	Don Graham	0.4%	767
Total Votes				173,301

2000
On November 7, 2000, Chris Smith won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Reed Gusiora (D), Stuart Chaifetz (I) and Paul D. Teel (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 4 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Chris Smith incumbent	63.2%	158,515
	Democratic	Reed Gusiora	35.1%	87,956
	Independent	Stuart Chaifetz	1.4%	3,627
	Independent	Paul D. Teel	0.3%	712
Total Votes				250,810

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.

New Jersey District 4
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Jersey District 4
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 4th 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 R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 4th the 81st most Republican 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 R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 4th the 91st most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 60.6%-38.1%.

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 R+14. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 4th the 97th most Republican 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 38.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 60.6%.

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 R+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 4th Congressional District the 166th most Republican 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 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in New Jersey
• New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2024
• New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2022
• New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2020
• New Jersey's 4th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 4

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

Mikie Sherrill (D)

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (3)