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New Jersey General Assembly District 2

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New Jersey General Assembly District 2
Incumbents
Assumed office: January 11, 2022
Assumed office: January 11, 2022

New Jersey General Assembly District 2 is represented by Don Guardian (R) and Claire Swift (R).

As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey state representatives represented an average of 116,181 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 110,094 residents.

About the office

Members of the New Jersey General Assembly serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. 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 General Assembly, a candidate must:[2]

  • Be a citizen of the United States
  • Be 21 years of age or older by the day of swearing in
  • Be a registered voter
  • Reside in the state for a minimum of two 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]
SalaryPer diem
$49,000/yearNo 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]

DocumentIcon.jpg 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]

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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]

  1. Districts must be contiguous.
  2. Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
  3. Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."

There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[8]

New Jersey General Assembly District 2
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

New Jersey General Assembly District 2
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2025

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2025

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Don Guardian, incumbent Claire Swift, Joanne Famularo, and Maureen Rowan are running in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on November 4, 2025.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Maureen Rowan and Joanne Famularo defeated Bruce Weekes and Lisa Bonanno in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Maureen Rowan
 
28.8
 
8,989
Joanne Famularo
 
24.2
 
7,552
Bruce Weekes
 
24.0
 
7,497
Lisa Bonanno
 
22.7
 
7,092
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
61

Total votes: 31,191
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Don Guardian and incumbent Claire Swift advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 10, 2025.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Guardian
Don Guardian
 
52.5
 
11,643
Image of Claire Swift
Claire Swift
 
47.5
 
10,519

Total votes: 22,162
Candidate Connection = 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.

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2023

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Don Guardian and incumbent Claire Swift defeated Lisa Bender and Alphonso Harrell in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Guardian
Don Guardian (R)
 
28.8
 
26,675
Image of Claire Swift
Claire Swift (R)
 
27.5
 
25,460
Lisa Bender (D)
 
22.2
 
20,547
Alphonso Harrell (D)
 
21.4
 
19,835

Total votes: 92,517
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Caren Fitzpatrick and Alphonso Harrell advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 6, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Caren Fitzpatrick
Caren Fitzpatrick
 
50.6
 
7,270
Alphonso Harrell
 
49.4
 
7,086

Total votes: 14,356
Candidate Connection = 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 General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Don Guardian and incumbent Claire Swift advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 6, 2023.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Guardian
Don Guardian
 
50.3
 
6,051
Image of Claire Swift
Claire Swift
 
49.7
 
5,980

Total votes: 12,031
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2021

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Claire Swift and Don Guardian defeated incumbent John Armato and Caren Fitzpatrick in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Claire Swift
Claire Swift (R)
 
26.8
 
31,818
Image of Don Guardian
Don Guardian (R)
 
26.7
 
31,640
Image of John Armato
John Armato (D)
 
23.7
 
28,094
Image of Caren Fitzpatrick
Caren Fitzpatrick (D)
 
22.9
 
27,127

Total votes: 118,679
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent John Armato and Caren Fitzpatrick advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 8, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Armato
John Armato
 
50.4
 
9,122
Image of Caren Fitzpatrick
Caren Fitzpatrick
 
49.6
 
8,990

Total votes: 18,112
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Don Guardian and Claire Swift advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 8, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Don Guardian
Don Guardian
 
50.7
 
9,784
Image of Claire Swift
Claire Swift
 
49.3
 
9,516

Total votes: 19,300
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2019

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019

Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2019. The primary was on June 4, 2019, and the general election was on November 5. The filing deadline for candidates was April 1, 2019.

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Vincent Mazzeo and incumbent John Armato defeated John Risley Jr. and Philip Guenther in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vincent Mazzeo
Vincent Mazzeo (D)
 
26.7
 
23,211
Image of John Armato
John Armato (D)
 
25.2
 
21,892
John Risley Jr. (R)
 
24.1
 
20,906
Philip Guenther (R)
 
24.1
 
20,905

Total votes: 86,914
Candidate Connection = 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 General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Incumbent Vincent Mazzeo and incumbent John Armato advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vincent Mazzeo
Vincent Mazzeo
 
51.3
 
6,319
Image of John Armato
John Armato
 
48.7
 
5,994

Total votes: 12,313
Candidate Connection = 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 General Assembly District 2 (2 seats)

Philip Guenther and John Risley Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 on June 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Philip Guenther
 
50.0
 
4,549
John Risley Jr.
 
50.0
 
4,540

Total votes: 9,089
Candidate Connection = 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.

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2017

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2017

General election

Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2017. All 80 seats were up for election. State assembly members are elected to two-year terms. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for the primary election was April 3, 2017.[9] Legislative districts in the New Jersey General Assembly are multi-member districts, with two representatives in each district. In Democratic and Republican primary elections, the top two candidates move forward to the general election, and the top two candidates in the general election are declared the winners.[10] The following candidates ran in the New Jersey General Assembly District 2 general election.[11][12]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2 General Election, 2017
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Vincent Mazzeo Incumbent 28.56% 27,601
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png John Armato 26.58% 25,683
     Republican Vince Sera 21.54% 20,814
     Republican Brenda Taube 21.33% 20,611
     Independent, Honest, Reliable Heather Gordon 1.25% 1,208
     Green Mico Lucide 0.74% 718
Total Votes 96,635
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Democratic primary election

The following candidates ran in the New Jersey General Assembly District 2 Democratic primary election.[13][14]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2 Democratic Primary, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Vincent Mazzeo Incumbent 37.46% 7,197
Green check mark transparent.png John Armato 29.13% 5,596
Ernest Coursey 20.05% 3,852
Jim Carney 6.65% 1,278
Theresa Watts 4.81% 925
Rizwan Malik 1.90% 365
Total Votes 19,213
Source: New Jersey Department of State

Republican primary election

Vince Sera and Brenda Taube were unopposed in the New Jersey General Assembly District 2 Republican primary election.[15][14]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2 Republican Primary, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Vince Sera 50.70% 5,551
Green check mark transparent.png Brenda Taube 49.30% 5,398
Total Votes 10,949
Source: New Jersey Department of State

2015

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2015

Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015.[16] Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Incumbent Vincent Mazzeo and Colin Bell were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Chris Brown and Will Pauls were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Mazzeo and Brown defeated Bell and Pauls in the general election.[17][18][19][20]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2 General Election, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Brown Incumbent 26.5% 18,959
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngVincent Mazzeo Incumbent 25.5% 18,279
     Democratic Colin Bell 24.4% 17,433
     Republican Will Pauls 23.6% 16,907
Total Votes 71,578

2013

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2013

Elections for the office of New Jersey General Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 4, 2013, and a general election on November 5, 2013. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 1, 2013. Incumbent Chris Brown (R) and Vincent Mazzeo (D) defeated incumbent John Amodeo (R), Nick Russo (D) and Gary Stein (BPM) in the general election. Brown was bracketed with Amodeo, and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Mazzeo was bracketed with Russo, and were unopposed in the Democratic primary.[21][22][23][24]

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2 General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Brown Incumbent 25.6% 26,020
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngVincent Mazzeo 24.8% 25,164
     Republican John Amodeo Incumbent 24.7% 25,124
     Democratic Nick Russo 23.5% 23,900
     Independent Gary Stein 1.4% 1,388
Total Votes 101,596

2011

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2011

Elections for the office of New Jersey General Assembly consisted of a primary election on June 7, 2011, and a general election on November 8, 2011. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 11, 2011. Incumbent John Amodeo (R) and Chris Brown (R) defeated Alisa Cooper (D) and Damon Tyner (D) in the general election. Amodeo and Brown were bracketed together in the Republican primary and ran unopposed. Cooper and Tyner were bracketed together in the Democratic primary and defeated Gary Stein to advance to the general election.[25][26][27]

New Jersey General Assembly District 2 General Election, 2011
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Amodeo Incumbent 29.2% 25,330
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Brown 27.1% 23,440
     Democratic Alisa Cooper 20.7% 17,933
     Democratic Damon Tyner 23% 19,919
Total Votes 86,622

Campaign contributions

From 2001 to 2023, candidates for New Jersey General Assembly District 2 raised a total of $4,585,199. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $109,171 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, New Jersey General Assembly District 2
Year Amount Candidates Average
2023 $231,774 5 $46,355
2021 $612,886 4 $153,222
2011 $973,388 5 $194,678
2009 $383,427 4 $95,857
2007 $555,899 5 $111,180
2005 $996,411 6 $166,069
2003 $229,925 8 $28,741
2001 $601,489 5 $120,298
Total $4,585,199 42 $109,171


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. New Jersey Constitution, "Article IV, Section II (2.)," accessed February 10, 2021
  2. NJ.gov, "PETITION FILING INSTRUCTION SHEET 2025 PRIMARY ELECTION NEW JERSEY GENERAL ASSEMBLY," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. New Jersey Legislature, "Our Legislature," accessed February 10, 2021
  5. New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey Constitution," accessed February 10, 2021 (Article IV, Section 4, (1))
  6. 6.0 6.1 New Jersey Monitor, "Democrats, GOP agree on new legislative map for N.J.," February 18, 2022
  7. Insider NJ, "Redistricting Commission Finalizes Legislative Map by 9-2 Vote," February 18, 2022
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 All About Redistricting, "New Jersey," accessed May 6, 2015
  9. New Jersey Secretary of State, "2017 Primary Election Timeline," accessed March 21, 2017
  10. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly for Primary Election, June 6, 2017," accessed April 13, 2017
  11. New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for General Assembly for General Election 11/07/2017 Election," accessed September 14, 2017
  12. New Jersey Department of State, "2017 official general election results," accessed November 30, 2017
  13. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
  14. 14.0 14.1 New Jersey Division of Elections, “2017 official primary election results for general assembly,” accessed July 13, 2017
  15. New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official Candidate List," April 6, 2017
  16. New Jersey Department of Elections, "2015 Primary Election Timeline," accessed February 2, 2015
  17. New Jersey Department of State, "Official candidate list for June 2 primary," accessed May 22, 2015
  18. New Jersey Department of State, "Official primary election results for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
  19. New Jersey Department of State, "Official list for candidate for General Assembly," accessed August 10, 2015
  20. New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election results for General Assembly," accessed December 7, 2015
  21. New Jersey Department of Elections, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
  22. New Jersey Department of State, "Official general election candidates," September 9, 2013
  23. Associated Press, "New Jersey - Summary Vote Results," November 6, 2013
  24. New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 6, 2013
  25. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General Assembly Primary Candidate List,” accessed December 5, 2013
  26. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General election results,” accessed December 5, 2013
  27. New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official Primary election results,” accessed December 5, 2013


Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Leadership
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 14
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Aura Dunn (R)
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
Sean Kean (R)
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
Al Barlas (R)
Democratic Party (52)
Republican Party (28)