New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 25, 2024
	Primary: June 4, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in New Jersey
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; DDHQ and The Hill: Likely Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th; New Jersey elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida 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 racesOhio 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 racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

New Jersey 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • School boards • Municipal • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was June 4, 2024. The filing deadline was March 25, 2024. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 58.9%-40.0%. 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) 51.8%-46.9%.^[3]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew defeated Joe Salerno and Thomas Cannavo in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Jeff Van Drew (R)	58.1	215,946
	Joe Salerno (D)	41.2	153,117
	Thomas Cannavo (G)	0.7	2,557

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 371,620
= 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 2

Joe Salerno defeated Tim Alexander, Carolyn Rush, and Rodney A. Dean Sr. in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Joe Salerno	38.3	14,057
	Tim Alexander	37.1	13,613
	Carolyn Rush	21.3	7,836
	Rodney A. Dean Sr.	3.4	1,235

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,741
= 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

Brandon Saffold (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	100.0	41,749

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,749
= 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.

Thomas Cannavo

Party: Green Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I am a retired prosecutor and defense attorney running in the 2nd District of New Jersey where I grew up and worked in all three branches of government. I grew up in Salem County and graduated from Pennsville Memorial High School in 1978. I graduated from Rutgers College in 1982 with a degree in Political Science and Philosophy. I attended Rutgers-Camden Law School from 1982 to 1985 and passed the bar in 1985. I worked as a law clerk, assistant prosecutor and deputy attorney general for 25 years. This is my first time running for office, as there is an urgent need for ordinary people to represent the needs of the 99% and not the corporate oligarchs who have usurped our government and threaten our democracy. I joined the Green Party in 2010 when I realized that the current duopoly of the two major parties were only serving the interests of their donors. My campaign will highlight the need to elevate the standard of living of all residents in my district and across the country. This entails universal single payer healthcare in the form of Improved Medicare for All embodied in pending legislation. Ending medical debt and student debt, along with free tuition for higher education and housing as a right are also necessary to improve the standard of living and quality of life for Americans. America must also establish its place as a moral leader in the world by opposing genocide and enacting foreign policy based on human rights, international law and diplomacy."

Key Messages

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

We must pass Improved Medicare for All as healthcare is a human right with no one left behind

We must transition quickly from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy to slow the harmful effects of climate change and strengthen the economy.

We can shift resources from war spending to human needs by governing with diplomacy human rights and international law. Trade goods and services and not weapons of destruction.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in New Jersey

Election information in New Jersey: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 15, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 15, 2024
Online: Oct. 15, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Nov. 4, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 29, 2024
Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 26, 2024 to Nov. 3, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (EST)

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?

Thomas Cannavo (G)

We must pass Improved Medicare for All as healthcare is a human right with no one left behind

We must transition quickly from fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy to slow the harmful effects of climate change and strengthen the economy.

We can shift resources from war spending to human needs by governing with diplomacy human rights and international law. Trade goods and services and not weapons of destruction.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Thomas Cannavo (G)

I am passionate about enacting a sane and compassionate healthcare system. Too many needlessly die as a result of our current barbaric and profit-driven healthcare system. National Improved Medicare for All is the best remedy, morally and economically.

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

Thomas Cannavo (G)

Honesty and integrity are important and necessary characteristics of any democratically elected and accountable public servant. This is difficult when corporate and special interest money are taken. The Green Party takes no such money. To reform our politics and restore representative democracy, we must end corporate dominance and control of our officials and institute other electoral reforms such as ranked choice voting so that voting for the lesser evil is not a good option.

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

Thomas Cannavo (G)

I was thirteen years of age when I watched the Watergate Hearings that summer. I was shocked and taken aback by the corruption at the highest levels of our government. I decided then to go to Law School and eventually run for Congress to bring some integrity to our governmental institutions. Becoming a career prosecutor allowed me to serve the public, but I was not permitted to run for office. Thus, my late start in running for office

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Thomas Cannavo (G)

Endorsed so far by Our Revolution of Ocean County, New Jersey

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jeff Van Drew	Republican Party	$3,233,277	$2,950,258	$762,430	As of December 31, 2024
Tim Alexander	Democratic Party	$52,960	$39,998	$12,962	As of September 30, 2023
Rodney A. Dean Sr.	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Carolyn Rush	Democratic Party	$125,579	$126,439	$0	As of July 19, 2024
Joe Salerno	Democratic Party	$1,742,454	$1,705,654	$36,800	As of December 31, 2024
Thomas Cannavo	Green Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. 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.^[4]
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.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican	Likely Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
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 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in New Jersey, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
New Jersey	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	200	N/A	3/25/2024	Source
New Jersey	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	100	N/A	6/4/2024	Source

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 2024 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 was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in New Jersey.

New Jersey U.S. Senate competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	1	1	0	7	2	1	1	100.0%	0	0.0%
2020	1	1	0	7	2	1	1	100.0%	1	100.0%
2018	1	1	0	4	2	1	1	100.0%	1	100.0%
2014	1	1	0	5	2	0	1	50.0%	0	0.0%

U.S. House

New Jersey U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	12	12	1	50	24	7	9	66.7%	7	63.6%
2022	12	12	1	56	24	6	9	62.5%	6	54.5%
2020	12	12	0	50	24	8	7	62.5%	8	66.7%
2018	12	12	2	49	24	8	4	50.0%	5	50.0%
2016	12	12	0	37	24	6	4	41.7%	7	58.3%
2014	12	12	3	45	24	7	5	50.0%	4	44.4%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in New Jersey in 2024. Information below was calculated on April 14, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Fifty candidates, including 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans, ran for New Jersey’s 12 U.S. House districts. That’s 4.17 candidates per district, less than the 4.67 candidates per district that ran in 2022 but the same as the 4.17 candidates per district that ran in 2020.

This was the first election to take place after U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi issued a preliminary injunction blocking the use of the county line primary ballot design in the Democratic Primary.

The 3rd Congressional District was the only open district, meaning no incumbents filed to run. That’s the same as in 2022, when one district was open. There were no open districts in 2020, two in 2018, none in 2016, and three in 2014.

Incumbent Andrew Kim (D-3rd) did not run for re-election to run for the U.S. Senate.

Nine candidates—five Democrats and four Republicans—ran for the open 3rd Congressional District, the most candidates that ran for a seat in New Jersey in 2024.

Sixteen primaries—seven Democratic and nine Republican—were contested in 2024, the most this decade. Fifteen primaries were contested in 2022 and 2020, respectively. There were 12 contested primaries in 2018, 10 contested primaries in 2016, and 12 in 2014.

Seven incumbents—five Democrats and two Republicans—faced primary challengers in 2024. That’s one more than in 2022, when six incumbents faced primary challengers, but less than in 2020, when eight faced primary challengers.

Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all twelve districts, meaning no seats were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

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

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+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd the 192nd most Republican district nationally.^[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in New Jersey's 2nd based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
46.9%	51.8%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
43.8	53.9	D+10.1

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in New Jersey, 2020

New Jersey presidential election results (1900-2020)

15 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
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

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 May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from New Jersey
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	9	11
Republican	0	3	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	12	14

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in New Jersey's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in New Jersey, May 2024
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 February 2024
	Democratic Party	25
	Republican Party	15
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		40

New Jersey General Assembly

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	52
	Republican Party	28
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		80

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

New Jersey Party Control: 1992-2024
Thirteen 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
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
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
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

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.