New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

← 2024
New Jersey's 5th Congressional District
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. Voting in New Jersey
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic DDHQ and The Hill: Pending 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, 2026
See also
New Jersey's 5th Congressional District 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 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 5th Congressional District of New Jersey, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is June 2, 2026. The filing deadline is March 23, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
• New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 Republican primary)

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

General election

The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Adam Rueda is running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Adam Rueda (Independent)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer and Nick Gebo are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
		Josh Gottheimer
		Nick Gebo

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Chandiha Gajapathy and Sean Kirrane are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 2, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Chandiha Gajapathy
		Sean Kirrane

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= 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.

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.

Adam Rueda

Party: Independent

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Hello! My name is Adam Rueda. I am a 28-year-old Bucknell graduate. I was raised in Andover Township (Sussex County). I grew up attending Catholic school at Reverend Brown grade & middle school and then Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta. At PJ, I was inducted into both National Honors Society and as a National Hispanic Scholar. I was an Ambassador within the Office of Admissions as well as the proud recipient of the Tri-County Scholarship, a need- and performance-based grant to attend private high school. To attend Bucknell, I received the Diversity Scholarship, which was awarded to incoming freshman that were going to bring diversity of experience and fresh perspectives to campus. While at Bucknell, I was Vice President and Social Chair of my fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and proudly graduated as a First-Generation College Graduate. My entire life, including college, I have worked odd-jobs to survive. My degree is a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Financial Management and Accounting. I am proud to have participated in Student Managed Investment Fund, a year long course where selected students invest and manage a portion of Bucknell's endowment. After graduation, I have gained life experience working as a Senior Financial Analyst at a commercial real estate brokerage in Morristown, as an Interior Design Salesperson in Short Hills & Manhattan, and as a DJ in NYC & Brooklyn."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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We have created a new political party, greenparty2.0, that is led by Earth-first, health-first Gen-Z activists. We are champions of gun control as well as restoring true free speech in this country. This includes online, in the media and in the workplace. I am proud to say that we have appointed 11 executive committee‬ chairs including myself. Each of these executive committee members are‬ college-educated, young professionals, all of whom sport diversified degrees and‬ notable track records of activism in relevant topics. Viewed as a whole, our board boasts‬ a wide breadth of life experience and professional expertise.‬

---

As an Earth-first, health-first minded candidate, I am deeply concerned about the health and sustainability of our home planet, as well as our own bodies, and see vividly how the two are interwoven and inter-related. It is of upmost importance that we pay much closer attention to the chemicals and pollution we are releasing into the air, our waters, spraying on our crops, processing into our foods and feeding to our children and loved ones.

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I am deeply concerned about the impact of lobbying and self-profiteering in our federal government, as many existing politicians are bought and paid-for by large corporations and interest groups. I am deeply concerned that career politicians in DC are enriching themselves by voting on behalf of their own financial holdings and interests, and not the constituents they are there to actually represent. Many existing politicians accept massive funding from the Fossil Fuel industry, and even more from AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. I believe this lobbying and campaign financing shackles our representatives to advocating for their financiers and contributes massively to the problems we have with the war on science and participation in genocide.

Voting information

See also: Voting in New Jersey

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

We have created a new political party, greenparty2.0, that is led by Earth-first, health-first Gen-Z activists. We are champions of gun control as well as restoring true free speech in this country. This includes online, in the media and in the workplace. I am proud to say that we have appointed 11 executive committee‬ chairs including myself. Each of these executive committee members are‬ college-educated, young professionals, all of whom sport diversified degrees and‬ notable track records of activism in relevant topics. Viewed as a whole, our board boasts‬ a wide breadth of life experience and professional expertise.‬

As an Earth-first, health-first minded candidate, I am deeply concerned about the health and sustainability of our home planet, as well as our own bodies, and see vividly how the two are interwoven and inter-related. It is of upmost importance that we pay much closer attention to the chemicals and pollution we are releasing into the air, our waters, spraying on our crops, processing into our foods and feeding to our children and loved ones.

I am deeply concerned about the impact of lobbying and self-profiteering in our federal government, as many existing politicians are bought and paid-for by large corporations and interest groups. I am deeply concerned that career politicians in DC are enriching themselves by voting on behalf of their own financial holdings and interests, and not the constituents they are there to actually represent. Many existing politicians accept massive funding from the Fossil Fuel industry, and even more from AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. I believe this lobbying and campaign financing shackles our representatives to advocating for their financiers and contributes massively to the problems we have with the war on science and participation in genocide.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

Environmental policy, health policy, making healthcare much more accessible, climate change, science policy, agriculture and small farmers, and education.

I am also very interested in election reform, including ways to boost voter turnout and ways to empower new, fresh candidates, outside of establishment Republicans and Democrats, to have a legitimate chance in elections without having to bend-the-knee to large corporations or interest groups. This could include ballot reform, open primaries, and much more.

Our party is passionate about thinking creatively about gun control, which could include reform to gun storage req., increasing hoops to get a gun, including mental health evaluations, as well as limiting access to assault weapons.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

A strong willingness to actually represent the constituents of their district is the most important. Beyond that, a strong compass of ethics and morality is crucial to be able to trust yourself to make the right decisions without too much outside interference.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

The core responsibility is to represent your constituents, and put your constituents' needs and desires before all other interests, including your own. As a Representative it is your core duty to voice the concerns and desires that are representative of both the people that voted for you, and the ones that did not.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

I remember 9/11 when I was 4 years old. My baby sister was born 6 days later.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

I worked many jobs growing up to survive such as pool boy, maintenance person, snow shoveler, limo dispatcher, intramural sports referee, wedding set-up and take-down, and others.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

It is dominated by only 2 parties. We are the only advanced democracy in the world that has an advanced democracy where the entire federal or national government does not have at least 3 parties represented. 2 parties is not enough space to color the many variations of ideologies and value systems that exist in this country.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

No. greenparty2.0 supports elevating young professionals and working-class people to federal positions. Our government is already filled to the brim with bootlickers of billionaires and career, profiteering politicians. Our general population in this country is not dominated by billionaires or lawyers, so why should our national government be? That is not representative of anyone. We need leaders that actually understand what it is like to be a working-class person, or a student entering the workforce. We need leaders that actually use and rely systems such as Medicaid, Medicare, Student Loan Relief, and many, many other hotly debated programs to provide color and diversity of experience in our national chamber, which it is currently sorely lacking.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

Rapid and increasing ecosystem degradation as well as the increased volume and intensity of extreme weather events such as wildfires, hurricanes and tornadoes. This can be addressed by divesting from fossil fuels and exploring science, research and acting swiftly to implement green solutions.

In addition, we have a massive problem with gun control as schools, churches and public places continue to be attacked with assault rifles meant for the battlefields of war.

Furthermore, the health and education of our general public and our children is of upmost priority. It is crucial we regulate food companies, that are often in business or in-partnership with pharmaceutical companies, and get Americans off of the processed-food to prescription-drug hamster wheel that is ever-profitable for big business, but does not serve any everyday American or their wallets.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

Sure. It is always good to have more elections instead of less elections, considering the only time the vast majority of Americans get to actually exercise their democracy and make their voice even remotely heard is through their voting.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

I am for exploring term-limits, as being a public servant was not meant to be a career role and many of our current Representatives have been insulated in government much too long and are out-of-touch with their constituents or the problems of our nation in general.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

AOC & MTG. They both think independently, go against the grain of their own party when they do not agree, and are not puppets of big business and other interest groups.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

Yes, compromise and hearing and understanding the other position is crucial in any interaction, whether it be a sale, a friendship, a relationship or policymaking. Open dialogue and critical thinking are more necessary now than ever in a political landscape in this country that is increasingly polarized and even more frequently gridlocked.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

The US House needs to investigate large behemoths of the fossil fuel industry such as Exxon, Chevron, BP and Shell to expose their gigantic war-on-science propaganda campaign that has been weaponized against all Americans to discredit credible scientists, research and enable insane profiteering and ecosystem destruction since the 1970s and 80s. The US House needs to investigate the coordination and collusion of the Biden administration and companies like Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson into forcing all Americans to receive a rushed and ill-developed vaccine. In addition, this administration needs to be investigated for suppressing research on vaccine injuries, as well as silencing any criticism or honest discussion regarding this topic on social media, specifically Meta. I fear similar suppression of social media is underway as we speak regarding topics of Israel, genocide and the "war" in Gaza.

What role should the United States government have in the development or use of artificial intelligence?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

The US government needs to ensure AI development has sufficient guardrails and ethics standards coded into its development. The US government needs to work to eliminate bias from AI coding. This development needs to be done with great care and oversight, which I fear is a window which has already come and gone.

What legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States?

Adam Rueda (Independent)

Our party believes the system to vote in general elections is extremely outdated. Most notably, the long queues and excruciating wait-times discourage many, many working, would-be voters. The US should explore ranked choice voting or similar reform, like Borda's rule.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Josh Gottheimer	Democratic Party	$1,892,291	$12,309,298	$10,295,486	As of December 31, 2025
Nick Gebo	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Chandiha Gajapathy	Republican Party	$50,000	$49,999	$0	As of November 23, 2025
Sean Kirrane	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Adam Rueda	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
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." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

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.
• 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.

Race ratings: New Jersey's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	2/10/2026	2/3/2026	1/27/2026	1/20/2026
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

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

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

• 2024
• 2022
• 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) defeated Mary Jo Guinchard (R), Beau Forte (G), James Tosone (L), and Aamir Arif (Peace Freedom Liberty Party) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer (D)	54.6	208,359
		Mary Jo Guinchard (R)	43.3	165,287
		Beau Forte (G)	0.9	3,428
		James Tosone (L)	0.6	2,440
	Submit photo	Aamir Arif (Peace Freedom Liberty Party)	0.6	2,375

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 381,889
= 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

• Richard Siegel (Ceasefire And Justice Party)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer	100.0	42,819

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,819
= 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

• Michael Wildes (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Mary Jo Guinchard (R) defeated George Song (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mary Jo Guinchard	69.8	21,321
		George Song	30.2	9,238

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,559
= 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 U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) defeated Frank Pallotta (R), Jeremy Marcus (L), Trevor Ferrigno (Together We Stand), and Louis Vellucci (American Values) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer (D)	54.7	145,559
		Frank Pallotta (R)	44.3	117,873
	Submit photo	Jeremy Marcus (L)	0.4	1,193
		Trevor Ferrigno (Together We Stand)	0.3	700
		Louis Vellucci (American Values)	0.2	618

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 265,943
= 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 Abrams (Stop Israel Boycotts)

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer	100.0	31,142

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,142
= 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.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Frank Pallotta (R) defeated Nick De Gregorio (R), Sab Skenderi (R), and Fred Schneiderman (R) (Withdrew, still on ballot) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallotta	50.2	16,021
	Submit photo	Nick De Gregorio	45.6	14,560
	Submit photo	Sab Skenderi	2.2	712
	Submit photo	Fred Schneiderman (Withdrew, still on ballot)	2.0	629

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,922
= 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

• Nicholas D'Agostino (R)
• Richard Franolich (R)

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) defeated Frank Pallotta (R) and Louis Vellucci (American Values Party) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer (D)	53.2	225,175
		Frank Pallotta (R)	45.6	193,333
		Louis Vellucci (American Values Party)	1.2	5,128

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 423,636
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Incumbent Josh Gottheimer (D) defeated Arati Kreibich (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Gottheimer	66.5	52,406
		Arati Kreibich	33.5	26,418

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 78,824
= 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.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5

Frank Pallotta (R) defeated John McCann (R), James Baldini (R), and Hector Castillo (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 5 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Frank Pallotta	51.7	25,834
		John McCann	32.4	16,220
	Submit photo	James Baldini	10.3	5,126
		Hector Castillo	5.6	2,814

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,994
= 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

• Robert Auth (R)
• Jon Dalrymple Jr. (R)
• Dana DiRisio (R)
• Paul Duggan (R)
• Mike Ghassali (R)

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.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's 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+2. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made New Jersey's 5th the 194th most Democratic district nationally.

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.

2024 presidential results in New Jersey's 5th Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
50.0%	48.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in New Jersey, 2024

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

See also: Party control of New Jersey state government

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 October 2025.

State executive officials in New Jersey, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Phil Murphy
Lieutenant Governor	Tahesha Way
Secretary of State	Tahesha Way
Attorney General	Matt Platkin

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

See also

New Jersey	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
New Jersey congressional delegation Voting in New Jersey New Jersey elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

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)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

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