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New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2025
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| 2025 New Jersey Assembly Election |
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| Election info |
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Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly will take place in 2025. The general election is on November 4, 2025. The primary was June 10, 2025. The filing deadline was March 24, 2025.
The New Jersey General Assembly is one of two state legislative chambers with elections in 2025. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
Party control
| September 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 52 | |
| Republican | 28 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | |
Candidates
General election
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection
Democratic
RepublicanPrimary
Incumbents who did not advance to the general election
Incumbents defeated in primaries
Three incumbents lost in primaries. This was the third election in the chamber to produce any defeated incumbents since 2011. There was one in 2019, and there were three in 2021.
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Garnet Hall |  Democratic |
Assembly District 28 |
| Barbara McCann Stamato | Democratic |
Assembly District 31 |
| Jessica Ramirez | Democratic |
Assembly District 32 |
Retiring incumbents
Four incumbents did not file for re-election in 2025.[1] The average number of Assembly incumbents who did not run for re-election in each election between 2011 and 2023 was 6.9. 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, 2011-2025 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||
| 2025 | 40 | 80 | 4 | 202 | 80 | 23 | 6 | 36.3% | 35 | 46.1% | ||||
| 2023 | 80 | 120 | 28 | 260 | 160 | 12 | 9 | 13.1% | 17 | 18.3% | ||||
| 2021 | 80 | 120 | 12 | 176 | 160 | 9 | 3 | 7.5% | 10 | 12.0% | ||||
| 2019 | 40 | 80 | 4 | 178 | 80 | 13 | 3 | 20.0% | 25 | 32.9% | ||||
| 2017 | 80 | 120 | 13 | 272 | 160 | 14 | 11 | 15.6% | 26 | 24.3% | ||||
| 2015 | 40 | 80 | 7 | 171 | 80 | 3 | 2 | 6.3% | 7 | 9.6% | ||||
| 2013 | 80 | 120 | 6 | 268 | 160 | 9 | 11 | 12.5% | 17 | 14.9% | ||||
| 2011 | 80 | 120 | 15 | 269 | 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 2025. Information below was calculated on April 14, 2025, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
New Jersey had 29 contested state legislative primaries in 2025, more than in any year since 2011 and an increase of 38% from the preceding cycle.
Twenty-two of the 29 contested primaries were for Democrats, 83% more than the 12 Democratic primaries in 2023. Seven primaries were for Republicans, 22% down from nine in 2023.
More New Jersey state legislative incumbents faced primary challengers in 2025 than in any cycle since Ballotpedia began tracking the state’s competitiveness figures in 2011.
Thirty-three incumbents faced primaries in 2025, representing 43% of the 76 incumbents who ran for re-election. This was a new high, with 2019 being the second highest at 33% of incumbents in contested primaries. Of the 33 incumbents who faced primary challengers in 2025, 29 were Democrats and four were Republicans.
A total of 202 major party candidates filed to run—119 Democrats and 83 Republicans. Four of the 80 seats up for election were open, meaning no incumbents filed. That tied 2019 for the fewest open seats since 2011. The average number of open seats each cycle since 2011 was 12.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2011 to 2025.[2]
| Open seats in New Jersey General Assembly elections: 2011 - 2025 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Seats up | Open seats | Incumbents running | |||||||||||
| # | % | # | % | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 80 | 4 | 5% | 76 | 95% | |||||||||
| 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% | |||||||||
Legislative referrals
- See also: Legislative referral
A legislative referral, or legislatively referred ballot measure, is a ballot measure that appears on the ballot due to a vote of the state legislature. A legislative referral can be a constitutional amendment, state statute, or bond issue.
As of the 2025 election, the New Jersey Constitution provides two legislative methods for referring a constitutional amendment to the ballot. First, the legislature can refer an amendment to the ballot through a 60% vote of both chambers during one legislative session. That amounts to a minimum of 48 votes in the New Jersey General Assembly and 24 votes in the New Jersey State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Second, the legislature can refer an amendment through a simple majority vote (50%+1) in each legislative chamber during two successive legislative sessions. That amounts to a minimum of 41 votes in the New Jersey General Assembly and 21 votes in the New Jersey State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Heading into the 2025 election, Democrats hold a 25-15 majority in the Senate and a 52-28 majority in the House. Democrats would need to lose two Senate seats and five House seats to lose the ability to pass legislative referrals without Republican votes via the first legislative method. Republicans would need to win nine Senate seats and 20 House seats to gain the ability to pass legislative referrals without Democratic votes via the first legislative method. For the second legislative method, Democrats would need to lose five Senate seats and 12 House seats to lose the ability to pass legislative referrals without Republican votes, and Republicans would need to win six Senate seats and 13 House seats to gain the ability to pass legislative referrals without Democratic votes.
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:[3]
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.[4]
- 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.[5]
2.) The candidate must sign a "Certificate of Acceptance" and an "Oath of Allegiance" to accompany the petition. The oath must also be notarized.[6]
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.[7]
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[8] |
| State Senator | 250 registered voters from the district[8] |
| State Representative | 250 registered voters from the district[8] |
| 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.[9]
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[8] |
| State Senator | 250 registered voters from the district[8] |
| 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:[10]
- 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[11] | |
|---|---|
| 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.[12]
New Jersey political history
Historic Assembly control
Democrats won control of the New Jersey General Assembly in 2001. In 2023, they won a 52-28 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the New Jersey General Assembly following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
New Jersey General Assembly election results: 1991-2023
| Year | '91 | '93 | '95 | '97 | '99 | '01 | '03 | '05 | '07 | '09 | '11 | '13 | '15 | '17 | '19 | '21 | '23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 22 | 27 | 30 | 32 | 35 | 44 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 47 | 48 | 48 | 52 | 54 | 52 | 46 | 52 |
| Republicans | 58 | 53 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 36 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 34 | 28 |
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 |
Voting information
- See also: Voting in New Jersey
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.[13] The commission voted 9-2 to approve the maps. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) and Cosmo A. Cirillo (D) were the two dissenting votes.[14] 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."[13]
See also
| New Jersey | State Legislative Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
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2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 |
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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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 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
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 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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