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Presidential election in New Jersey, 2016

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General election in New Jersey
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Hillary Clinton
Electoral votes: 14
2012 winner: Barack Obama (D)
Democratic Primary
  Date: June 7, 2016
Winner: Hillary Clinton
Republican Primary
  Date: June 7, 2016
Winner: Donald Trump
Down ballot races in New Jersey
  U.S. House
New Jersey judicial elections
New Jersey local judicial elections
State ballot measures
School boards
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New Jersey held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. Democratic and Republican primaries took place in New Jersey on June 7, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Hillary Clinton won New Jersey in the general election. In 2016, New Jersey had 14 electoral votes, which was 2.6 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 5.2 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, New Jersey cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 80 percent of the time. In that same time frame, New Jersey supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 53.33 to 46.67 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every election between between 2000 and 2016.
  • Presidential primary elections in New Jersey took place on June 7, 2016. Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary with 63.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 80.4 percent.

    • General election candidates and results

    Candidates

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the New Jersey secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November. Write-in candidates were not included in the list below.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in New Jersey

    ☑ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☐ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)
    ☐ Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley (Constitution)
    ☐ Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg (American Delta)
    ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    ☐ Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart (Socialist Workers)
    ☐ Gloria Estela La Riva/Eugene Puryear (Socialism and Liberation)
    ☐ Monica Moorehead/Lamont Lilly (Workers World)
    ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, New Jersey, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHillary 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

    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties: The counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump from 2008-2016

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012, in 34 states.[1] Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes, and had an average margin of victory of 11.45 percent. The political shift in these counties could have a broad impact on elections at every level of government for the next four years.

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of New Jersey's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in New Jersey, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • New Jersey participated in 30 presidential elections.
    • New Jersey voted for the winning presidential candidate 80 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[2]
    • New Jersey voted Democratic 46.67 percent of the time and Republican 53.33 percent of the time.

    Presidential election voting record in New Jersey, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, New Jersey, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 58.4% 2,126,610 14
         Republican Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan 40.6% 1,478,749 0
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 0.6% 20,974 0
         Green Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala 0.3% 9,902 0
         N/A Write-ins 0.2% 8,206 0
    Total Votes 3,644,441 14
    Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

    Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Virgil Goode, Rocky Anderson, Jeff Boss, Merlin Miller, James Harris and Peta Lindsay.[4]

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, New Jersey, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden 57.2% 2,215,422 15
         Republican John McCain/Sarah Palin 41.7% 1,613,207 0
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 0.6% 21,298 0
         Independent Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root 0.2% 8,441 0
         N/A Write-in 0.2% 7,768 0
         Independent Chuck Baldwin/Michael Peroutka 0.1% 4,258 0
    Total Votes 3,870,394 15
    Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

    Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Cynthia McKinney, Ron Paul, Brian Moore, Jeff Boss, Roger Calero, Gloria La Riva, Alan Keyes and Gene Amondson.[5]

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    New Jersey electors

    In 2016, New Jersey had 14 electoral votes. New Jersey's share of electoral votes represented 1.3 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 2.6 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[6][7]

    New Jersey was one of 20 states in 2016 without a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: New Jersey elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in New Jersey covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Primary election

    Quick facts

    Democrats: Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Donald Trump
    • Poll leader: Donald Trump
    • 2012 Republican winner: Mitt Romney
    • Type: Closed Primary
    • Delegate allocation: Winner take all
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 51

    Democrats

    Hillary Clinton won the New Jersey Democratic primary over Bernie Sanders 63 to 36 percent. Clinton won all but two counties in the state—Sussex and Warren, which Sanders won by 14 and two points, respectively. Clinton carried Essex County, where Newark is located, by almost 50 points. Leading up to the primary, nine of New Jersey's 16 Democratic superdelegates had pledged their support to Clinton, while two had expressed support for Sanders. Clinton's victory in New Jersey came after The Associated Press declared on June 6 that she had secured enough pledged delegates and superdelegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

    Republicans

    Donald Trump won the New Jersey Republican primary with 80 percent of the vote. John Kasich, who suspended his campaign in May 2016, came in second with 13 percent. Because New Jersey allocated its delegates on a "winner-take-all" basis, Trump received all of the state's 51 delegates. Trump, the only candidate in the race for the Republican nomination at the time of the New Jersey primary, was endorsed by Gov. Chris Christie (R).

    June 7 primaries

    Five other states held presidential primary elections or caucuses for the Democratic and Republican parties on June 7, 2016: California, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

    2016 primary results

    Democrats

    New Jersey Democratic Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngHillary Clinton 63.2% 554,237 79
    Bernie Sanders 36.8% 323,259 47
    Totals 877,496 126
    Source: The New York Times

    Republicans

    New Jersey Republican Primary, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngDonald Trump 80.4% 356,697 51
    John Kasich 13.4% 59,506 0
    Ted Cruz 6.2% 27,521 0
    Totals 443,724 51
    Source: The New York Times

    Candidate list

    Democrats[8]

    Hillary Clinton


    Bernie Sanders


    Republicans[8]

    Ted Cruz


    John Kasich


    Donald Trump

    Polls

    Democratic primary

    Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primary polling (New Jersey)
    Poll Hillary Clinton Bernie SandersUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    CBS News/YouGov
    May 31-June 3, 2016    		61%34%5%+/-5.4586
    Quinnipiac
    May 10-16, 2016    		54%40%6%+/-3.7696
    Monmouth
    May 1-3, 2016    		60%32%8%+/-5.7301
    Rutgers-Eagleton
    April 1-8, 2016    		51%42%7%+/-6.3292
    Rutgers-Eagleton
    February 6-15, 2016    		55%32%13%+/-6.2304
    Fairleigh Dickinson University
    November 9-15, 2015    		64%27%9%+/-5384
    Quinnipiac University
    November 4-8, 2015    		56%23%21%+/-4.2538
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
    Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primary polling - June 2015 (New Jersey)
    Poll Hillary Clinton Bernie SandersJoe BidenMartin O'MalleyJim WebbLincoln ChafeeUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Fairleigh Dickinson
    June 15-21, 2015
    		63%15%0%3%0%0%19%+/-5.5345
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Republican primary

    Republican Party Republican Party presidential primary polling (New Jersey)
    Poll Donald Trump John KasichTed CruzMarco RubioBen CarsonUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Monmouth
    May 1-3, 2016    		70%15%11%0%0%4%+/-5.7301
    Rutgers-Eagleton
    April 1-8, 2016    		52%24%18%0%0%29%+/-6.9244
    Rutgers-Eagleton
    February 6-15, 2016    		38%8%10%11%5%29%+/-7227
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.
    Republican Party Republican Party presidential primary polling - November 2015 (New Jersey)
    Poll Donald Trump Marco RubioBen CarsonChris ChristieTed CruzJeb BushCarly FiorinaJohn KasichRand PaulMike HuckabeeUnsure or OtherMargin of ErrorSample Size
    Fairleigh Dickenson University
    November 9-15, 2015    		31%18%11%9%6%5%5%2%2%2%7%+/-5.6307
    Quinnipiac University
    November 4-8, 2015    		31%15%16%8%7%4%4%3%1%0%10%+/-4.5481
    Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

    Delegates

    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    New Jersey had 142 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 126 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results.[9][10]

    Sixteen party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[9][11]

    New Jersey superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from New Jersey, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    RNC logo 2015.png

    New Jersey had 51 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, 36 were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's 12 congressional districts), and 12 served as at-large delegates. The plurality winner of the statewide primary vote received all of the state's district and at-large delegates.[12][13]

    In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention. The RNC delegates were required to pledge their support to the winner of the state's primary.[12][13]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from New Jersey, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from New Jersey, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    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

    State profile

    Demographic data for New Jersey
     New JerseyU.S.
    Total population:8,935,421316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):7,3543,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:68.3%73.6%
    Black/African American:13.5%12.6%
    Asian:9%5.1%
    Native American:0.2%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
    Two or more:2.5%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:19%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:88.6%86.7%
    College graduation rate:36.8%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$72,093$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:12.7%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in New Jersey.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in New Jersey

    New Jersey voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in New Jersey, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[14]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. New Jersey had one Retained Pivot County and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 0.55 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

    More New Jersey coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
    2. ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    3. ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    4. ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "2012 Presidential Election Results," accessed December 29, 2014
    5. ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "2012 Presidential Election Results," accessed December 29, 2014
    6. ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    7. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, "Candidates for President for Primary Election 6/7/2016," accessed April 5, 2016
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    10. ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    11. ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "rollcallvote" defined multiple times with different content
    14. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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