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New Jersey General Assembly District 12
New Jersey General Assembly District 12 is represented by Robert Clifton (R) and Alex Sauickie (R).
As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey state representatives represented an average of 116,181 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 110,094 residents.
About the office
Members of the New Jersey General Assembly serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon of the second Tuesday in January following the election.[1]
Qualifications
In order to qualify as a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly, a candidate must:[2]
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be 21 years of age or older by the day of swearing in
- Be a registered voter
- Reside in the state for a minimum of two years prior to the general election
- Reside in the legislative district for one year prior to the general election
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $49,000/year | No per diem is paid. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the New Jersey State Legislature, the vacancy will be filled by an interim appointment by the county leadership of the political party that holds the seat. The office will be on the ballot in the next general election, unless the vacancy occurs within 51 days of the election. If that is the case, the appointment would stand until the following general election.[4][5]
See sources: New Jersey Const., Art. IV, Sec. IV(1)
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On February 18, 2022, the New Jersey Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted to approve a new set of state legislative maps.[6] The commission voted 9-2 to approve the maps. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) and Cosmo A. Cirillo (D) were the two dissenting votes.[7] The New Jersey Monitor's Nikita Biryukov wrote that the vote was "an unprecedented compromise for a commission that has historically relied on a court-appointed tiebreaker to end partisan gridlock."[6] These maps took effect for New Jersey's 2023 legislative elections.
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:[8]
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.[8]
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.[8]
State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:[8]
- Districts must be contiguous.
- Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
- Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."
There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[8]
New Jersey General Assembly District 12
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
New Jersey General Assembly District 12
starting January 3, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2025
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2025
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Robert Clifton, incumbent Alex Sauickie, Kyler Dineen, and Freshta Taeb are running in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Robert Clifton (R) | |
| Alex Sauickie (R) | ||
| Kyler Dineen (D) | ||
 | Freshta Taeb (D)  | |
| ||||
| = 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
- Stephen Zielinski (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Kyler Dineen and Freshta Taeb advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 10, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kyler Dineen | 52.3 | 10,769 | |
| ✔ | | Freshta Taeb | 47.7 | 9,831 |
| Total votes: 20,600 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Alex Sauickie advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 10, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton | 53.1 | 13,683 |
| ✔ | Alex Sauickie | 46.9 | 12,100 | |
| Total votes: 25,783 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2023
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Alex Sauickie defeated Paul Sarti and Raya Arbiol in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton (R) | 32.0 | 28,200 |
| ✔ | Alex Sauickie (R) | 30.7 | 27,061 | |
| Paul Sarti (D) | 19.0 | 16,767 | ||
 | Raya Arbiol (D) | 18.3 | 16,164 | |
| Total votes: 88,192 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Paul Sarti and Raya Arbiol advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paul Sarti | 50.4 | 4,861 | |
| ✔ | | Raya Arbiol | 49.6 | 4,789 |
| Total votes: 9,650 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Alex Sauickie defeated Salvatore Giordano in the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton | 45.1 | 5,297 |
| ✔ | Alex Sauickie | 43.1 | 5,056 | |
| Salvatore Giordano | 11.8 | 1,387 | ||
| Total votes: 11,740 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2022
A special election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 was called for November 8, 2022. Major parties in New Jersey had until September 15 to nominate candidates for the special election. The filing deadline for petition candidates was September 6, 2022.[9]
The became vacant on July 23, 2022, after Ronald Dancer (R) died.[10]
General election
Special general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12
Incumbent Alex Sauickie defeated Paul Sarti in the special general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Alex Sauickie (R) | 61.1 | 42,734 | |
| Paul Sarti (D) | 38.9 | 27,249 | ||
| Total votes: 69,983 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2021
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated Michael Palazzolla and Raya Arbiol in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ronald Dancer (R) | 33.4 | 47,595 |
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton (R) | 32.5 | 46,378 |
| Michael Palazzolla (D) | 17.3 | 24,642 | ||
| Raya Arbiol (D) | 16.8 | 23,993 | |
| Total votes: 142,608 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Raya Arbiol and Michael Palazzolla advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Raya Arbiol | 50.2 | 5,250 |
| ✔ | Michael Palazzolla | 49.8 | 5,202 | |
| Total votes: 10,452 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated Ahmed Basuoni in the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ronald Dancer | 49.2 | 9,608 |
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton | 47.7 | 9,312 |
 | Ahmed Basuoni | 3.1 | 602 | |
| Total votes: 19,522 | |||
| = 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
- Clare Farragher (R)
- Eleanor Walker (R)
- Alex Robotin (R)
2019
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2019. The primary was on June 4, 2019, and the general election was on November 5. The filing deadline for candidates was April 1, 2019.
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated David Lande and Malini Guha in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ronald Dancer (R) | 32.1 | 24,577 |
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton (R) | 31.2 | 23,879 |
 | David Lande (D) | 18.9 | 14,449 | |
 | Malini Guha (D) | 17.9 | 13,708 | |
| Total votes: 76,613 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
David Lande and Malini Guha advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Lande | 51.4 | 3,702 |
| ✔ | | Malini Guha | 48.6 | 3,494 |
| Total votes: 7,196 | |||
| = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 12 (2 seats)
Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 on June 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ronald Dancer | 51.2 | 3,960 |
| ✔ | | Robert Clifton | 48.8 | 3,779 |
| Total votes: 7,739 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2017
General election
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2017. All 80 seats were up for election. State assembly members are elected to two-year terms. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for the primary election was April 3, 2017.[11] Legislative districts in the New Jersey General Assembly are multi-member districts, with two representatives in each district. In Democratic and Republican primary elections, the top two candidates move forward to the general election, and the top two candidates in the general election are declared the winners.[12] The following candidates ran in the New Jersey General Assembly District 12 general election.[13][14]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 12 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Ronald Dancer Incumbent |
29.25% | 30,348 | |
| Republican | Robert Clifton Incumbent |
28.54% | 29,610 | |
| Democratic | Gene Davis | 20.67% | 21,441 | |
| Democratic | Nirav Patel | 19.66% | 20,397 | |
| Libertarian | Anthony J. Storrow | 0.98% | 1,016 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel A. Krause | 0.90% | 938 | |
| Total Votes | 103,750 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||||
Democratic primary election
Gene Davis and Nirav Patel were unopposed in the New Jersey General Assembly District 12 Democratic primary election.[15][16]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 12 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Gene Davis |
51.59% | 5,928 |
| Nirav Patel |
48.41% | 5,563 |
| Total Votes | 11,491 | |
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
Republican primary election
Incumbent Ronald Dancer and incumbent Robert Clifton defeated Eleanor Walker, Alex Robotin, and John Sheard in the New Jersey General Assembly District 12 Republican primary election.[17][16]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 12 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Ronald Dancer Incumbent |
31.34% | 4,425 |
| Robert Clifton Incumbent |
29.77% | 4,203 |
| Eleanor Walker | 19.22% | 2,713 |
| Alex Robotin | 16.51% | 2,331 |
| John Sheard | 3.16% | 446 |
| Total Votes | 14,118 | |
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
2015
Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015.[18] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. David Merwin and Anthony Washington were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Robert Clifton and incumbent Ronald Dancer were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Washington did not appear on the official candidate list for the general election; he was replaced by Robert Kurzydlowski.[19] Dancer and Clifton defeated Merwin, Kurzydlowski and Stephen Zielinski (G) in the general election.[20][21][22][23][24]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 12 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ronald Dancer Incumbent |
29.5% | 15,164 | |
| Republican | Robert Clifton Incumbent |
28% | 14,433 | |
| Democratic | David Merwin | 20.4% | 10,496 | |
| Democratic | Robert Kurzydlowski | 20.3% | 10,449 | |
| Green | Stephen Zielinski | 1.8% | 945 | |
| Total Votes | 51,487 | |||
2013
Elections for the office of New Jersey General Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 4, 2013, and a general election on November 5, 2013. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 1, 2013. Incumbent Ronald Dancer (R) and incumbent Robert Clifton (R) defeated Lawrence J. Furman (D), Nicholas Nellegar (D) and Diane Bindler (FTP) in the general election. Dancer and Clifton were bracketed together, and ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Furman and Nellegar were bracketed together, and ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[25][26][27][28]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 12 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ronald Dancer Incumbent |
32.8% | 32,188 | |
| Republican | Robert Clifton Incumbent |
31.7% | 31,059 | |
| Democratic | Lawrence J. Furman | 17.5% | 17,119 | |
| Democratic | Nicholas Nellegar | 16.6% | 16,312 | |
| For the People | Diane Bindler | 1.4% | 1,354 | |
| Total Votes | 98,032 | |||
2011
Elections for the office of New Jersey General Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 7, 2011, and a general election on November 8, 2011. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 11, 2011. Incumbent Ronald Dancer (R) and Robert Clifton (R) defeated Catherine Tinney Rome (D) and William Spedding (D) in the general election. Dancer was moved out of District 30 via the redistricting process. Dancer and Clifton were bracketed in the Republican primary and ran unopposed. Rome and Spedding were bracketed in the Democratic primary and ran unopposed.[29][30][31]
| New Jersey General Assembly District 12 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Ronald Dancer Incumbent |
30.2% | 18,090 | |
| Republican | Robert Clifton |
29% | 17,402 | |
| Democratic | William Spedding | 20.4% | 12,253 | |
| Democratic | Catherine Tinney Rome | 20.4% | 12,218 | |
| Total Votes | 59,963 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2001 to 2023, candidates for New Jersey General Assembly District 12 raised a total of $3,472,479. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $84,695 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, New Jersey General Assembly District 12 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $197,355 | 5 | $39,471 |
| 2022 | $31,359 | 2 | $15,680 |
| 2021 | $186,990 | 5 | $37,398 |
| 2011 | $278,696 | 4 | $69,674 |
| 2009 | $236,777 | 5 | $47,355 |
| 2007 | $1,498,984 | 4 | $374,746 |
| 2005 | $150,890 | 6 | $25,148 |
| 2003 | $758,653 | 5 | $151,731 |
| 2001 | $132,775 | 5 | $26,555 |
| Total | $3,472,479 | 41 | $84,695 |
See also
- New Jersey State Legislature
- New Jersey State Senate
- New Jersey General Assembly
- New Jersey state legislative districts
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ NJ.gov, "PETITION FILING INSTRUCTION SHEET 2025 PRIMARY ELECTION NEW JERSEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Our Legislature," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey Constitution," accessed February 10, 2021 (Article IV, Section 4, (1))
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 New Jersey Monitor, "Democrats, GOP agree on new legislative map for N.J.," February 18, 2022
- ↑ Insider NJ, "Redistricting Commission Finalizes Legislative Map by 9-2 Vote," February 18, 2022
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 All About Redistricting, "New Jersey," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Globe, "Four Republicans Already Looking At Bid For Dancer’s Assembly Seat," July 26, 2022
- ↑ App, "Assemblyman Ronald Dancer dies at 73, spent two decades in Legislature," accessed July 25, 2022
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "2017 Primary Election Timeline," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly for Primary Election, June 6, 2017," accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for General Assembly for General Election 11/07/2017 Election," accessed September 14, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2017 official general election results," accessed November 30, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, “2017 official primary election results for general assembly,” accessed July 13, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidates for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 3, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Amended Certification," September 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election candidates," September 9, 2013
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 6, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General Assembly Primary Candidate List,” accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General election results,” accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official Primary election results,” accessed December 5, 2013
