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New Jersey General Assembly District 31

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New Jersey General Assembly District 31
Incumbents
Assumed office: January 11, 2022
Assumed office: January 9, 2024

New Jersey General Assembly District 31 is represented by William Sampson (D) and Barbara McCann Stamato (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

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

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]
SalaryPer diem
$49,000/yearNo per diem is paid.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

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]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: New Jersey Const., Art. IV, Sec. IV(1)


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2020 census

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]

  1. The majority and minority leaders of each chamber of the New Jersey State Legislature appoint two commissioners a piece (for a total of eight members).
  2. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint two members to the commission (for a total of four members). Commissioners appointed by the political parties cannot be members of Congress or congressional employees.
  3. The first 12 commissioners appoint the last member. This member cannot have held public office in the state within the previous five-year period. If the first 12 commissioners cannot agree on an appointment, they must submit two names to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The court must then appoint the final commissioner.

If the congressional redistricting commission fails to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, it must submit two plans to the state Supreme Court, which must in turn select from those two plans a final map.[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]

  1. Districts must be contiguous.
  2. Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
  3. Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."

There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[8]

New Jersey General Assembly District 31
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Jersey General Assembly District 31
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 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent William Sampson, Jerry Walker, Anthony Acosta, and Neil Schulman are running in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on November 4, 2025.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Jerry Walker and incumbent William Sampson defeated incumbent Barbara McCann Stamato and Jacqueline Weimmer in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Jerry Walker
 
28.8
 
9,071
Image of William Sampson
William Sampson
 
24.5
 
7,714
Image of Barbara McCann Stamato
Barbara McCann Stamato
 
23.7
 
7,482
Jacqueline Weimmer
 
23.1
 
7,276

Total votes: 31,543
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Anthony Acosta and Neil Schulman advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Anthony Acosta
 
58.1
 
2,520
Image of Neil Schulman
Neil Schulman
 
41.9
 
1,816

Total votes: 4,336
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2023

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Barbara McCann Stamato
Barbara McCann Stamato (D)
 
34.7
 
13,003
Image of William Sampson
William Sampson (D)
 
34.4
 
12,883
Sydney Ferreira (R)
 
11.3
 
4,237
Angelique Diaz (R)
 
11.1
 
4,153
Mary Jane Desmond (Leadership Experience Values Party)
 
4.6
 
1,724
Noemi Velazquez (Leadership Experience Values Party)
 
3.9
 
1,443

Total votes: 37,443
Candidate Connection = 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 New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent William Sampson and Barbara McCann Stamato defeated Shanelle Smith in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 6, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of William Sampson
William Sampson
 
42.6
 
8,090
Image of Barbara McCann Stamato
Barbara McCann Stamato
 
40.7
 
7,713
Shanelle Smith
 
16.7
 
3,166

Total votes: 18,969
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Sydney Ferreira and Angelique Diaz advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 6, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Sydney Ferreira
 
50.1
 
1,009
Angelique Diaz
 
49.9
 
1,005

Total votes: 2,014
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2021

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent Angela McKnight and William Sampson defeated Rose Javier and Brandon Vila in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Angela McKnight
Angela McKnight (D)
 
38.3
 
26,187
Image of William Sampson
William Sampson (D)
 
36.3
 
24,810
Rose Javier (R)
 
12.9
 
8,817
Brandon Vila (R)
 
12.5
 
8,565

Total votes: 68,379
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent Angela McKnight and William Sampson defeated incumbent Nicholas Chiaravalloti (Unofficially withdrew) in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 8, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Angela McKnight
Angela McKnight
 
52.2
 
7,170
Image of William Sampson
William Sampson
 
47.8
 
6,576
Image of Nicholas Chiaravalloti
Nicholas Chiaravalloti (Unofficially withdrew)
 
0.0
 
0

Total votes: 13,746
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 (2 seats)

Rose Javier and Brandon Vila advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 8, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Rose Javier
 
50.3
 
959
Brandon Vila
 
49.7
 
948

Total votes: 1,907
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2019

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 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 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent Angela McKnight and incumbent Nicholas Chiaravalloti defeated Jason Mushnick and Mary Kay Palange in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Angela McKnight
Angela McKnight (D)
 
44.2
 
19,440
Image of Nicholas Chiaravalloti
Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D)
 
38.1
 
16,750
Image of Jason Mushnick
Jason Mushnick (R)
 
9.0
 
3,951
Mary Kay Palange (R)
 
8.7
 
3,837

Total votes: 43,978
Candidate Connection = 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 31 (2 seats)

Incumbent Angela McKnight and incumbent Nicholas Chiaravalloti advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Angela McKnight
Angela McKnight
 
52.4
 
5,739
Image of Nicholas Chiaravalloti
Nicholas Chiaravalloti
 
47.6
 
5,210

Total votes: 10,949
Candidate Connection = 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 31 (2 seats)

Jason Mushnick and Mary Kay Palange advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 on June 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jason Mushnick
Jason Mushnick
 
52.3
 
620
Mary Kay Palange
 
47.7
 
565

Total votes: 1,185
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2017

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 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 Angela McKnight (D) and incumbent Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D) defeated Michael Alonso (R) and Lauren DiGiaro (R) in the New Jersey General Assembly District 31 general election.[11][12]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 General Election, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Angela McKnight Incumbent 42.02% 23,616
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Nicholas Chiaravalloti Incumbent 40.61% 22,823
     Republican Michael Alonso 8.89% 4,994
     Republican Lauren DiGiaro 8.48% 4,766
Total Votes 56,199
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Democratic primary election

Incumbent Angela McKnight and incumbent Nicholas Chiaravalloti defeated Kristen Zadroga-Hart and Christopher Munoz in the New Jersey General Assembly District 31 Democratic primary election.[13][14]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Angela McKnight Incumbent 37.33% 9,621
Green check mark transparent.png Nicholas Chiaravalloti Incumbent 35.20% 9,073
Kristen Zadroga-Hart 15.83% 4,081
Christopher Munoz 11.64% 3,000
Total Votes 25,775
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Republican primary election

Michael Alonso and Lauren DiGiaro were unopposed in the New Jersey General Assembly District 31 Republican primary election.[15][14]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Michael Alonso 51.48% 593
Green check mark transparent.png Lauren DiGiaro 48.52% 559
Total Votes 1,152
Source: New Jersey Department of State

2015

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 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. Joseph Conte and Ramon Regalado were bracketed together, Angela McKnight and Nicholas Chiaravalloti were bracketed together, Bruce Alston and Washington Flores were bracketed together and in the Democratic primary. Matthew Kopko and Herminio Mendoza were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Dejon Morris withdrew from the race before the Democratic primary. McKnight and Chiaravalloti defeated Kopko, Mendoza, Tony Zanowic (Your Independent Leadership) and Alejandro Rodriguez (Your Independent Leadership) in the general election.[17][18][19][20][21]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 General Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAngela McKnight 35.3% 9,597
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngNicholas Chiaravalloti 33.9% 9,212
     Republican Matthew Kopko 14.2% 3,872
     Republican Herminio Mendoza 9.6% 2,603
     Your Independent Leadership Tony Zanowic 3.5% 958
     Your Independent Leadership Alejandro Rodriguez 3.4% 934
Total Votes 27,176
New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngAngela McKnight 35.2% 5,623
Green check mark transparent.pngNicholas Chiaravalloti 32.6% 5,207
Joseph Conte 10.9% 1,748
Ramon Regalado 8.9% 1,419
Bruce Alston 6.2% 988
Washington Flores 5.1% 822
DeJon Morris 1% 157
Total Votes 15,964

2013

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 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 Jason O'Donnell (D) and incumbent Charles Mainor (D) defeated Gerard Pizzillo (R) and Juanita Lopez (R) in the general election. Mainor and O'Donnell were bracketed together, and ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Pizzillo and Lopez were bracketed together, and defeated Tony Zanowic and Michael Alonso in the Republican primary.[22][23][24][25]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 31 General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJason O'Donnell Incumbent 36.9% 17,954
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCharles Mainor Incumbent 36.8% 17,877
     Republican Gerard Pizzillo 13.3% 6,471
     Republican Juanita Lopez 13% 6,342
Total Votes 48,644

2011

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 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 Jason O'Donnell (D) and incumbent Charles Mainor (D) defeated Michael Alonso (R) and Daniel Beckelman (R) in the general election. O'Donnell and Mainor were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Alonso and Beckelman were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary.[26][27][28]

New Jersey General Assembly District 31 General Election, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJason O'Donnell Incumbent 39.7% 11,690
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngCharles Mainor Incumbent 40.3% 11,877
     Republican Michael Alonso 10.7% 3,157
     Republican Daniel Beckelman 9.3% 2,751
Total Votes 29,475

Campaign contributions

From 2001 to 2023, candidates for New Jersey General Assembly District 31 raised a total of $3,638,324. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $71,340 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, New Jersey General Assembly District 31
Year Amount Candidates Average
2023 $325,638 7 $46,520
2021 $230,077 5 $46,015
2011 $333,259 4 $83,315
2009 $101,898 7 $14,557
2007 $765,718 5 $153,144
2005 $575,072 7 $82,153
2003 $1,090,179 8 $136,272
2001 $216,483 8 $27,060
Total $3,638,324 51 $71,340


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
  2. NJ.gov, "PETITION FILING INSTRUCTION SHEET 2025 PRIMARY ELECTION NEW JERSEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. New Jersey Legislature, "Our Legislature," accessed February 10, 2021
  5. New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey Constitution," accessed February 10, 2021 (Article IV, Section 4, (1))
  6. 6.0 6.1 New Jersey Monitor, "Democrats, GOP agree on new legislative map for N.J.," February 18, 2022
  7. Insider NJ, "Redistricting Commission Finalizes Legislative Map by 9-2 Vote," February 18, 2022
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 All About Redistricting, "New Jersey," accessed May 6, 2015
  9. New Jersey Secretary of State, "2017 Primary Election Timeline," accessed March 21, 2017
  10. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly for Primary Election, June 6, 2017," accessed April 13, 2017
  11. New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for General Assembly for General Election 11/07/2017 Election," accessed September 14, 2017
  12. New Jersey Department of State, "2017 official general election results," accessed November 30, 2017
  13. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
  14. 14.0 14.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, “2017 official primary election results for general assembly,” accessed July 13, 2017
  15. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
  16. New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
  17. New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
  18. New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
  19. New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial primary election results," accessed June 3, 2015
  20. New Jersey Department of State, "Official list for candidate for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
  21. New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
  22. New Jersey Department of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
  23. New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election candidates," September 9, 2013
  24. Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
  25. New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 6, 2013
  26. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General Assembly Primary Candidate List,” accessed December 5, 2013
  27. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General election results,” accessed December 5, 2013
  28. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official Primary election results,” accessed December 5, 2013


Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Leadership
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 14
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Aura Dunn (R)
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
Sean Kean (R)
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Al Barlas (R)
Democratic Party (52)
Republican Party (28)