New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District

Incumbent

Jeff Van Drew

Assumed office: January 3, 2019

New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Jeff Van Drew (R).

As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey representatives represented an average of 774,541 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 733,958 residents.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2030

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2028

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R), Tim Alexander (D), Bill Finn (D), Terri Reese (D), and Bayly Winder (D) are running in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jeff Van Drew (R)
		Tim Alexander (D)
		Bill Finn (D)
		Terri Reese (D)
		Bayly Winder (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Curtis Green (D)

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) defeated Joe Salerno (D) and Thomas Cannavo (G) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (R)	58.1	215,946
		Joe Salerno (D)	41.2	153,117
		Thomas Cannavo (G)	0.7	2,557

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 371,620
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Joe Salerno (D) defeated Tim Alexander (D), Carolyn Rush (D), and Rodney A. Dean Sr. (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Salerno	38.3	14,057
		Tim Alexander	37.1	13,613
		Carolyn Rush	21.3	7,836
		Rodney A. Dean Sr.	3.4	1,235

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 36,741
= 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

• Brandon Saffold (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 4, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	100.0	41,749

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,749
= 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.

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) defeated Tim Alexander (D), Michael Gallo (L), and Anthony Parisi Sanchez (Not for Sale) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (R)	58.9	139,217
		Tim Alexander (D)	40.0	94,522
		Michael Gallo (L)	0.8	1,825
		Anthony Parisi Sanchez (Not for Sale)	0.4	920

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 236,484
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Tim Alexander (D) defeated Carolyn Rush (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tim Alexander	61.7	17,199
		Carolyn Rush	38.3	10,667

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,866
= 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

• Curtis Green (D)
• Hector Tavarez (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) defeated John Barker (R) and Sean Pignatelli (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	86.0	35,843
		John Barker	7.7	3,217
		Sean Pignatelli	6.2	2,601

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,661
= 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

• Scott Hitchner (R)

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) defeated Amy Kennedy (D), Jenna Harvey (Justice Mercy Humility Party), and Jesse Ehrnstrom (L) in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (R)	51.9	195,526
		Amy Kennedy (D)	46.2	173,849
		Jenna Harvey (Justice Mercy Humility Party)	1.1	4,136
		Jesse Ehrnstrom (L)	0.8	3,036

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,547
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Amy Kennedy (D) defeated Brigid Callahan Harrison (D), Will Cunningham (D), John Francis III (D), and Robert Turkavage (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amy Kennedy	62.1	43,414
		Brigid Callahan Harrison	22.3	15,560
		Will Cunningham	12.8	8,946
	Submit photo	John Francis III	1.5	1,061
	Submit photo	Robert Turkavage	1.3	938

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,919
= 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

• Ashley Bennett (D)
• Frederick John LaVergne (D)
• Jack Surrency (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Incumbent Jeff Van Drew (R) defeated Bob Patterson (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on July 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	82.4	45,226
		Bob Patterson	17.6	9,691

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 54,917
= 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

• Brian Fitzherbert (R)
• David Richter (R)

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew (D)	52.9	136,685
		Seth Grossman (R)	45.2	116,866
		John Ordille (L)	0.7	1,726
		Steven Fenichel (Time for Truth Party)	0.4	1,154
		Anthony Parisi Sanchez (Cannot Be Bought Party)	0.4	1,064
		William Benfer (Together We Can Party)	0.3	868

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 258,363 (100% precincts reporting)
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Jeff Van Drew (D) defeated Tanzie Youngblood (D), Will Cunningham (D), and Nathan Kleinman (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jeff Van Drew	57.0	16,901
		Tanzie Youngblood	18.5	5,495
		Will Cunningham	16.2	4,795
		Nathan Kleinman	8.3	2,467

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 29,658
= 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

• Sean Thom (D)

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2

Seth Grossman (R) defeated Hirsh Singh (R), Samuel Fiocchi (R), and Robert Turkavage (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 2 on June 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Seth Grossman	39.0	10,215
		Hirsh Singh	30.5	7,983
		Samuel Fiocchi	23.3	6,107
	Submit photo	Robert Turkavage	7.1	1,854

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 26,159
= 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

• Brian Fitzherbert (R)
• Mark McGovern (R)
• James Toto (R)

Previous election results

2016

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Frank LoBiondo (R) defeated David Cole (D) and several third party candidates in the general election on November 8, 2016. LoBiondo faced no challenger in the Republican primary, while Cole defeated Costantino Rozzo in the Democratic primary. The primary elections took place on June 7, 2016. LoBiondo won re-election in the November 8 election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	59.2%	176,338
	Democratic	David Cole	37.2%	110,838
	Libertarian	John Ordille	1.3%	3,773
	Make Government Work	James Keenan	0.9%	2,653
	Representing the 99%	Steven Fenichel	0.5%	1,574
	People's Independent Progressive	Eric Beechwood	0.5%	1,387
	For Political Revolution	Gabriel Brian Franco	0.4%	1,232
Total Votes				297,795
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
David Cole	81.1%	33,961
Constantino Rozzo	18.9%	7,932
Total Votes		41,893
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2014

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Frank LoBiondo (R) defeated Bill Hughes, Jr. (D), Gary Stein (I), Bayode Olabisi (I), Costantino Rozzo (American Labor Party) and Alexander Spano (Democratic-Republican). LoBiondo defeated Mike Assad in the Republican primary on June 3, 2014, while Hughes defeated Dave Cole for the Democratic nomination.

New Jersey's 2nd was considered a battleground district in 2014. LoBiondo won re-election in 2012 by a 17.4 percent margin of victory. The 2012 presidential race went Democratic, with Barack Obama winning the district by an 8.1 percent margin of victory.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	61.5%	108,875
	Democratic	Bill Hughes, Jr.	37.3%	66,026
	Independent	Gary Stein	0.3%	612
	Independent	Bayode Olabisi	0.3%	471
	American Labor Party	Costantino Rozzo	0.3%	501
	Democratic-Republican	Alexander Spano	0.4%	663
Total Votes				177,148
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

2012

See also: New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012

The 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Frank LoBiondo won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cassandra Shober	40.3%	116,462
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo Incumbent	57.7%	166,677
	Libertarian	John Ordille	0.9%	2,699
	Independent	David Bowen Sr.	0.3%	1,010
	Independent	Charles Lukens	0.5%	1,329
	Independent	Frank Faralli Jr.	0.3%	892
Total Votes				289,069
Source: New Jersey Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010
On November 2, 2010, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Gary Stein (D), Peter F. Boyce (Constitution), Mark Lovett (marklovett.us) and Vitov Valdes-Munoz (American Labor) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	65.5%	109,460
	Democratic	Gary Stein	30.9%	51,690
	Constitution	Peter F. Boyce	2.5%	4,120
	marklovett.us	Mark Lovett	0.7%	1,123
	American Labor	Vitov Valdes-Munoz	0.4%	727
Total Votes				167,120

2008
On November 4, 2008, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David Kurkowski (D), Jason M. Grover (G), Peter F. Boyce (Constitution), Gary Stein (Rock the Boat) and Costantino Rozzo (Socialist Party USA) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	59.1%	167,701
	Democratic	David Kurkowski	39.1%	110,990
	Green	Jason M. Grover	0.6%	1,763
	Constitution	Peter F. Boyce	0.5%	1,551
	Rock the Boat	Gary Stein	0.5%	1,312
	Socialist Party USA	Costantino Rozzo	0.2%	648
Total Votes				283,965

2006
On November 7, 2006, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Viola Thomas-Hughes (D), Robert E. Mullock (Preserve Green Space), Lynn Merle (A New Direction), Thomas Fanslau (We the People) and Willie Norwood (Socialist Party USA) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	61.6%	111,245
	Democratic	Viola Thomas-Hughes	35.6%	64,277
	Preserve Green Space	Robert E. Mullock	1.7%	3,071
	A New Direction	Lynn Merle	0.5%	992
	We the People	Thomas Fanslau	0.3%	603
	Socialist Party USA	Willie Norwood	0.2%	385
Total Votes				180,573

2004
On November 2, 2004, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Timothy J. Robb (D), Michael J. Matthews, Jr. (Independent/Libertarian), Jose David Alcantara (Independent/Green), Willie Norwood (Independent/Jobs Equality Business) and Costantino Rozzo (Independent-Socialist Party USA) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	65.1%	172,779
	Democratic	Timothy J. Robb	32.7%	86,792
	Independent/Libertarian	Michael J. Matthews, Jr.	0.7%	1,767
	Independent/Green	Jose David Alcantara	0.6%	1,516
	Independent/Jobs Equality Business	Willie Norwood	0.8%	1,992
	Socialist Party USA	Constantino Rozzo	0.2%	595
Total Votes				265,441

2002
On November 5, 2002, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Steven A. Farkas (D), Roger Merle (Independent/Green), Michael J. Matthews, Jr. (Independent/Libertarian) and Constantino Rozzo (Independent/Socialist) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	69.2%	116,834
	Democratic	Steven A. Farkas	28.3%	47,735
	Independent/Green	Roger Merle	1%	1,739
	Independent/Libertarian	Micahel J. Matthews, Jr.	1%	1,720
	Independent/Socialist	Constantino Rozzo	0.5%	771
Total Votes				168,799

2000
On November 7, 2000, Frank LoBiondo won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Edward G. Janosik (D), Robert Gabrielsky (I) and Constantino Rozzo (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, New Jersey District 2 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo incumbent	66.4%	155,187
	Democratic	Edward G. Janosik	31.9%	74,632
	Independent	Robert Gabrielsky	1.4%	3,252
	Independent	Constantino Rozzo	0.3%	788
Total Votes				233,859

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2020 census

The New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission enacted a new congressional map on December 22, 2021. This map took effect for New Jersey's 2022 congressional elections. The commission voted 7-6 to approve the Democratic map proposal, with all six Democratic members and the tiebreaker, former New Jersey Supreme Court Judge John Wallace voting to approve. All six Republican members of the commission voted against the map.

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:

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.

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.

State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:

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.

2020

2024

2010-2011

This is the 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey after the 2001 redistricting process.

See also: Redistricting in New Jersey after the 2010 census

In 2011, the New Jersey State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd the 184th most Republican district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd the 192nd most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 51.8%-46.9%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd the 191st most Republican district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 46.9% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 51.8%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage point more Republican than the national average. This made New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District the 231st most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in New Jersey
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
• New Jersey's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 2

Footnotes

[show]

New Jersey's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Cory Booker (D)

Andrew Kim (D)

Representatives

District 1

Donald Norcross (D)

District 2

Jeff Van Drew (R)

District 3

Herbert Conaway (D)

District 4

Chris Smith (R)

District 5

Josh Gottheimer (D)

District 6

Frank Pallone (D)

District 7

Thomas Kean (R)

District 8

Robert Menendez (D)

District 9

Nellie Pou (D)

District 10

LaMonica McIver (D)

District 11

Vacant

District 12

Bonnie Coleman (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (3)

Vacancies (1)