New Jersey State Senate District 5

New Jersey State Senate District 5 is represented by Nilsa Cruz-Perez (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)

2016 pivot county

See also: Pivot Counties and Legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties

This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.

The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.^[6]

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.^[7] The commission voted 9-2 to approve the maps. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) and Cosmo A. Cirillo (D) were the two dissenting votes.^[8] 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."^[7] 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:^[9]

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.^[9]

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.^[9]

State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:^[9]

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.^[9]

New Jersey State Senate District 5
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Jersey State Senate District 5
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2023

General election

General election for New Jersey State Senate District 5

Incumbent Nilsa Cruz-Perez defeated Clyde Cook and Mohammad Kabir in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 5 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)	68.7	25,799
	Submit photo	Clyde Cook (R)	29.9	11,245
		Mohammad Kabir (Rights Tranquility Peace Party)	1.4	530

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,574
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 5

Incumbent Nilsa Cruz-Perez advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 5 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nilsa Cruz-Perez	100.0	13,354

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,354
= 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 5

Clyde Cook advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 5 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Clyde Cook	100.0	2,776

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,776
= 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.