New Jersey State Senate District 31

New Jersey State Senate District 31 is represented by Angela McKnight (D).

As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey state senators represented an average of 232,362 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 220,188 residents.

About the office

Members of the New Jersey State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Known as the "2-4-4" cycle, Senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade, which only lasts for two years. 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 State Senate, a candidate must:^[2]

Be a citizen of the United States
Be 30 years of age or older by the day of swearing in
Be a registered voter
Reside in the state for a minimum of four 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

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]

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]

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 State Senate District 31
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Jersey State Senate District 31
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2023

General election

General election for New Jersey State Senate District 31

Angela McKnight defeated Luis Soto in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on November 7, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Angela McKnight (D)	75.8	14,421
	Luis Soto (R)	24.2	4,593

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,014
= 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 State Senate District 31

Angela McKnight defeated Michael Griffin in the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela McKnight	75.1	8,005
	Submit photo	Michael Griffin	24.9	2,661

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,666
= 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 State Senate District 31

Luis Soto advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Luis Soto	100.0	1,073

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,073
= 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.