New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023
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| 2023 New Jersey Assembly Elections | |
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| Primary | June 6, 2023 |
| General | November 7, 2023 |
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Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2023. The general election was on November 7, 2023. A primary was June 6, 2023. The filing deadline was March 27, 2023.
The New Jersey General Assembly was one of eight state legislative chambers with elections in 2023. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
The average number of retiring incumbents from 2011 to 2021 was eight. In 2023, 22 incumbents retired, an increase of 175%.[1] New Jersey media listed the following reasons for the increase in retirements: redistricting, running for other offices, age, and family responsibilities.[2][3]
Party control
| New Jersey General Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 7, 2023 | After November 8, 2023 | |
| Democratic Party | 46 | 52 | |
| Republican Party | 34 | 28 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 | |
Candidates
General election
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection
Democratic
RepublicanPrimary
Voting information
- See also: Voting in New Jersey
Incumbents who were not re-elected
Incumbents defeated in general elections
Five incumbents lost in general elections. This was equal to the decade high of five in 2021.
Incumbents defeated in primaries
No incumbents lost in primaries. This was a decrease from three primary defeats in 2021 and one in 2019. There were similarly no primary defeats from 2011 to 2017.
Retiring incumbents
Twenty-two incumbents were not on the ballot in 2023. This was the largest number of retirements since 2011, and a 175% increase from the average of eight retirements per cycle between 2011 and 2021.[4] Those incumbents were:
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in New Jersey. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
| New Jersey state legislative competitiveness, 2011-2023 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 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 | ||||
| 2023 | 80 | 120 | 28 | 260 | 160 | 12 | 9 | 13.1% | 17 | 18.3% | ||||
| 2021 | 80 | 120 | 12 | 261 | 160 | 9 | 10 | 11.9% | 23 | 21.3% | ||||
| 2019 | 40 | 80 | 4 | 179 | 80 | 13 | 3 | 20.0% | 25 | 32.9% | ||||
| 2017 | 80 | 120 | 13 | 275 | 160 | 14 | 11 | 15.6% | 26 | 24.3% | ||||
| 2015 | 40 | 80 | 7 | 172 | 80 | 3 | 2 | 6.3% | 7 | 9.6% | ||||
| 2013 | 80 | 120 | 6 | 269 | 160 | 9 | 11 | 12.5% | 17 | 14.9% | ||||
| 2011 | 80 | 120 | 15 | 270 | 160 | 11 | 14 | 15.6% | 18 | 17.0% | ||||
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in New Jersey in 2023. Information below was calculated on April 26, 2023, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Twenty-eight state legislative seats up for election in New Jersey in 2023 were open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. This represented 23% of the state’s legislature, a decade-high open seat rate, and a marked increase from previous election cycles.
Newcomers are guaranteed to win all open seats since no incumbents are running for them.
This was New Jersey’s first election under new state legislative maps following the 2020 redistricting cycle.
The number of open seats tends to increase after redistricting.
Incumbents may opt against running for re-election because they now live in a district with a different partisan makeup compared to the one they previously represented or because they now live in a district with another incumbent.
Additionally, an incumbent might run for re-election in a new district, leaving their old seat open.
In New Jersey, three incumbents ran for re-election in new districts.
In the General Assembly, Assms. Brian Bergen (R) and Christian Barranco (R) effectively swapped districts, with Bergen moving from District 25 to District 26 and vice versa for Barranco.
In the Senate, Sen. Nia Gill (D) ran in District 27, leaving her District 34 seat open. Gill faced incumbent District 27 Sen. Richard Codey (D) in a Democratic primary.
In 2023, 255 major party candidates filed to run for the state’s 80 General Assembly and 40 Senate seats: 134 Democrats and 121 Republicans.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2023.[5]
| Open seats in New Jersey General Assembly elections: 2011 - 2023 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Seats up | Open seats | Incumbents running | |||||||||||
| # | % | # | % | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 80 | 20 | 25% | 60 | 75% | |||||||||
| 2021 | 80 | 8 | 10% | 72 | 90% | |||||||||
| 2019 | 80 | 4 | 5% | 76 | 95% | |||||||||
| 2017 | 80 | 8 | 10% | 72 | 90% | |||||||||
| 2015 | 80 | 7 | 9% | 73 | 91% | |||||||||
| 2013 | 80 | 5 | 6% | 75 | 94% | |||||||||
| 2011 | 80 | 12 | 15% | 68 | 85% | |||||||||
Process to become a candidate
For partisan candidates
See statutes: Title 19, Article 23 of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes
Political party candidates are nominated via primary elections. To access the primary ballot, a partisan candidate must do the following:[6]
1.) File a petition with the required number of signatures for the office being sought, including a guarantee that signers are qualified voters of New Jersey and the electoral district in which the candidate is running.[7]
- The petition must indicate that the circulator/witness is the person who collected the signatures on the petition. The circulator must complete and sign the affidavit where indicated.[8]
2.) The candidate must sign a "Certificate of Acceptance" and an "Oath of Allegiance" to accompany the petition. The oath must also be notarized.[9]
The petition may include a candidate's designation or slogan, which must not exceed six words. The designation is for the purpose of indicating either an official act or policy to which the candidate is pledged or committed, or to distinguish the candidate as belonging to a particular faction or wing of his political party. No such designation or slogan can include or refer to the name of any person or any incorporated association of New Jersey without written consent.[10]
Signature requirements for primary petitions are established by Title 19, Article 23, Section 8, of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes.
| Signature requirements | |
|---|---|
| Office | Signature requirements |
| Governor | 2,500 registered voters[11] |
| State Senator | 250 registered voters from the district[11] |
| State Representative | 250 registered voters from the district[11] |
| United States Representative | 200 registered voters from the congressional district |
| United States Senator | 1,000 voters in the state who are members of the applicable political party |
For independent candidates
See statutes: Title 19, Article 13 of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes
An independent candidate must submit the same paperwork as a partisan candidate.[12]
Signature requirements for independent candidates are established by Title 19, Article 13, Section 5, of the New Jersey Permanent Statutes and are as follows:
| Signature requirements | |
|---|---|
| Office | Signature requirements |
| Governor | 2,000 registered voters[11] |
| State Senator | 250 registered voters from the district[11] |
| State Representative | 250 registered voters from the district |
| United States Representative | 100 registered voters from the congressional district |
| United States Senator | 800 registered voters in the state |
Qualifications
In order to be a candidate to run for the New Jersey General Assembly, a candidate must:[13]
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Reside for no less than two years in the district the candidate plans to represent.
- Be 21 years of age or older.
- Obtain 100 signatures via petition and submit the signatures to the New Jersey Secretary of State.
- Disclose any criminal convictions.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[14] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $49,000/year | No per diem is paid. |
When sworn in
New Jersey legislators assume office at noon on the second Tuesday in January following the election.[15]
New Jersey political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
New Jersey Party Control: 1992-2025
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas • Eight years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | S | S | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Assembly | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Presidential politics in New Jersey
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in New Jersey, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
57.3
|
2,608,335 | 14 |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
41.4
|
1,883,274 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
0.7
|
31,677 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.3
|
14,202 | 0 | |
 
| Bill Hammons/Eric Bodenstab (Unity Party) |
0.1
|
3,255 | 0 | |
 
| Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party) |
0.1
|
2,954 | 0 | |
 
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation) |
0.1
|
2,928 | 0 | |
 
| Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Alliance Party) |
0.1
|
2,728 | 0 | |
 |
Total votes: 4,549,353 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, New Jersey, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
55.5% | 2,148,278 | 14 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 41.4% | 1,601,933 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 1.9% | 72,477 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1% | 37,772 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.2% | 6,161 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart | 0.1% | 2,156 | 0 | |
| American Delta | Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0% | 1,838 | 0 | |
| Workers World | Monica Moorehead/Lamont Lilly | 0% | 1,749 | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria Estela La Riva/Eugene Puryear | 0% | 1,682 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 3,874,046 | 14 | |||
| Election results via: New Jersey Department of State | |||||
New Jersey presidential election results (1900-2024)
- 16 Democratic wins
- 16 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | R | R | R | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Redistricting following the 2020 census
On February 18, 2022, the New Jersey Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted to approve a new set of state legislative maps.[16] The commission voted 9-2 to approve the maps. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) and Cosmo A. Cirillo (D) were the two dissenting votes.[17] 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."[16]
See also
| New Jersey | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ New Jersey Monitor, "List grows of lawmakers retiring before next round of legislative elections," March 15, 2023
- ↑ NJ Spotlight News, "Elections may offer chance to make Legislature more diverse," March 27, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:23-5," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:23-8," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:23-11," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:23-15," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Permanent Statutes, "Title 19:23-17," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 New Jersey Department of State, "Changes in Signature Requirements for New Jersey Election Petitions Become Law," February 4, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," accessed April 24, 2025
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "Partisan Office Candidate Requirements," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 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
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