New Jersey General Assembly District 16
New Jersey General Assembly District 16 is represented by Mitchelle Drulis (D) and Roy Freiman (D).
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, 2025[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 16
until January 2, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
New Jersey General Assembly District 16
starting January 3, 2023
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2025
See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2025
General election
General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Roy Freiman and incumbent Mitchelle Drulis defeated Catherine Payne and Scott Sipos in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Roy Freiman (D) | 29.5 | 53,196 |
| ✔ |  | Mitchelle Drulis (D) | 29.2 | 52,535 |
| Catherine Payne (R) | 20.7 | 37,300 | ||
| Scott Sipos (R) | 20.6 | 37,114 | ||
| Total votes: 180,145 | |||
 = 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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Mitchelle Drulis and incumbent Roy Freiman defeated Mahmoud Desouky in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 10, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mitchelle Drulis | 44.7 | 16,899 |
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman | 44.3 | 16,745 |
| Mahmoud Desouky | 11.0 | 4,140 | ||
| Total votes: 37,784 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Scott Sipos and Catherine Payne advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 10, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Scott Sipos | 51.6 | 12,113 | |
| ✔ | Catherine Payne | 48.4 | 11,367 | |
| Total votes: 23,480 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis defeated Grace Zhang and Ross Traphagen in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman (D) | 28.3 | 34,188 |
| ✔ | | Mitchelle Drulis (D) | 27.9 | 33,624 |
| Grace Zhang (R) | 22.0 | 26,558 | ||
| Ross Traphagen (R) | 21.8 | 26,293 | ||
| Total votes: 120,663 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman | 50.1 | 9,803 |
| ✔ | | Mitchelle Drulis | 49.9 | 9,759 |
| Total votes: 19,562 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Ross Traphagen and Grace Zhang advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Ross Traphagen | 50.3 | 5,946 | |
| ✔ | Grace Zhang | 49.7 | 5,873 | |
| Total votes: 11,819 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Roy Freiman and Sadaf Jaffer defeated Vincent Panico and Joseph A. Lukac, III in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman (D) | 26.7 | 40,992 |
| ✔ |  | Sadaf Jaffer (D) | 25.7 | 39,512 |
| Vincent Panico (R) | 24.0 | 36,924 | ||
 | Joseph A. Lukac, III (R) | 23.6 | 36,251 | |
| Total votes: 153,679 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Sadaf Jaffer and incumbent Roy Freiman defeated Faris Zwirahn in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Sadaf Jaffer | 44.2 | 9,383 |
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman | 41.8 | 8,889 |
 | Faris Zwirahn | 14.0 | 2,979 | |
| Total votes: 21,251 | |||
| = 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
- Chris Fistonich (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 (2 seats)
Vincent Panico and Joseph A. Lukac, III advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Vincent Panico | 50.9 | 10,113 | |
| ✔ | | Joseph A. Lukac, III | 49.1 | 9,763 |
| Total votes: 19,876 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Andrew Zwicker and incumbent Roy Freiman defeated Mark Caliguire and Christine Madrid in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrew Zwicker (D) | 28.1 | 27,732 |
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman (D) | 26.9 | 26,466 |
 | Mark Caliguire (R) | 22.6 | 22,276 | |
 | Christine Madrid (R) | 22.4 | 22,068 | |
| Total votes: 98,542 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Incumbent Andrew Zwicker and incumbent Roy Freiman advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrew Zwicker | 51.4 | 8,671 |
| ✔ | | Roy Freiman | 48.6 | 8,207 |
| Total votes: 16,878 | |||
| = 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 16 (2 seats)
Mark Caliguire and Christine Madrid defeated Roger Forest Locandro in the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 on June 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Caliguire | 39.3 | 4,782 |
| ✔ | | Christine Madrid | 35.0 | 4,266 |
| Roger Forest Locandro | 25.7 | 3,127 | ||
| Total votes: 12,175 | |||
| = 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.[9] 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.[10] Incumbent Andrew Zwicker (D) and Roy Freiman (D) defeated Donna Simon (R) and Mark Caliguire (R) in the New Jersey General Assembly District 16 general election.[11][12]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 16 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Andrew Zwicker Incumbent |
27.24% | 34,233 | |
| Democratic | Roy Freiman |
26.03% | 32,714 | |
| Republican | Donna Simon | 23.61% | 29,674 | |
| Republican | Mark Caliguire | 23.11% | 29,041 | |
| Total Votes | 125,662 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||||
Democratic primary election
Incumbent Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman were unopposed in the New Jersey General Assembly District 16 Democratic primary election.[13][14]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 16 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Andrew Zwicker Incumbent |
51.32% | 10,918 |
| Roy Freiman |
48.68% | 10,358 |
| Total Votes | 21,276 | |
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
Republican primary election
Donna Simon and Mark Caliguire were unopposed in the New Jersey General Assembly District 16 Republican primary election.[15][14]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 16 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Donna Simon |
50.43% | 8,048 |
| Mark Caliguire |
49.57% | 7,912 |
| Total Votes | 15,960 | |
| 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.[16] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Andrew Zwicker and Maureen Vella were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Jack Ciattarelli and incumbent Donna Simon were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. The four candidates faced off in the general election. Zwicker (D) and Ciattarelli (R) defeated Vella (D) and Simon (R) in the general election. After all provisional ballots were counted on November 9, 2015, Zwicker led Simon by 78 votes.[17] Simon had until November 18 to concede the race or to file for a recount. Simon decided not to pursue a recount.[18][19][20][21][22]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 16 General Election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jack Ciattarelli Incumbent |
25.4% | 16,577 | |
| Democratic | Andrew Zwicker |
25% | 16,308 | |
| Republican | Donna Simon Incumbent | 24.9% | 16,230 | |
| Democratic | Maureen Vella | 24.6% | 16,043 | |
| Total Votes | 65,158 | |||
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 Jack Ciattarelli (R) and incumbent Donna Simon (R) defeated Marie Corfield (D), Ida Ochoteco (D) and Patrick McKnight (L) in the general election. Ciattarelli and Simon were bracketed together, and ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Corfield and Ochoteco were bracketed together, and ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[23][24][25][26]
| New Jersey General Assembly, District 16 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jack Ciattarelli Incumbent |
28.3% | 32,125 | |
| Republican | Donna Simon Incumbent |
27.8% | 31,543 | |
| Democratic | Marie Corfield | 22.1% | 25,112 | |
| Democratic | Ida Ochoteco | 20.8% | 23,682 | |
| Libertarian | Patrick McKnight | 1.1% | 1,202 | |
| Total Votes | 113,664 | |||
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 Peter Biondi (R) and Jack Ciattarelli (R) defeated Marie Corfield (D) and Joe Camarota (D) in the general election. Biondi and Ciattarelli ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Corfield and Camarota ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.[27][28][29]
| New Jersey General Assembly District 16 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Peter Biondi Incumbent |
26.9% | 20,359 | |
| Republican | Jack Ciattarelli |
26.1% | 19,770 | |
| Democratic | Marie Corfield | 23.5% | 17,779 | |
| Democratic | Joe Camarota | 23.5% | 17,795 | |
| Total Votes | 75,703 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2001 to 2023, candidates for New Jersey General Assembly District 16 raised a total of $4,462,150. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $117,425 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, New Jersey General Assembly District 16 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2023 | $870,774 | 4 | $217,694 |
| 2021 | $939,388 | 5 | $187,878 |
| 2011 | $274,749 | 4 | $68,687 |
| 2009 | $675,665 | 6 | $112,611 |
| 2007 | $801,352 | 5 | $160,270 |
| 2005 | $567,985 | 5 | $113,597 |
| 2003 | $195,348 | 5 | $39,070 |
| 2001 | $136,889 | 4 | $34,222 |
| Total | $4,462,150 | 38 | $117,425 |
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, "2025 Legislator Compensation," December 2, 2025
- ↑ 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 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
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 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
- ↑ My Central Jersey, "Final count gives Democrat win over GOP assemblywoman," accessed November 10, 2015
- ↑ Patch.com, "Donna Simon Will Not Pursue Recount in 16th Legislative Assembly Race," accessed November 18, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary election results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official list for candidate for General Assembly," accessed August 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
