New Jersey's 7th legislative district is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature, covering the Burlington County municipalities of Beverly City, Bordentown City, Bordentown Township, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson Township, Delanco Township, Delran Township, Edgewater Park Township, Fieldsboro Borough, Florence Township, Moorestown Township, Mount Laurel Township, Palmyra Borough, Riverside Township, Riverton Borough and Willingboro Township as of the 2021 apportionment.Districts, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed October 10, 2023.
Demographic characteristics As of the 2020 United States census, the district had a population of 230,129, of whom 181,640 (78.9%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 135,209 (58.8%) White, 51,819 (22.5%) African American, 583 (0.3%) Native American, 14,639 (6.4%) Asian, 109 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 8,935 (3.9%) from some other race, and 18,835 (8.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19,637 (8.5%) of the population.
The district had 179,511 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 58,079 (32.4%) were registered as unaffiliated, 80,714 (45.0%) were registered as Democrats, 38,637 (21.5%) were registered as Republicans, and 2,081 (1.2%) were registered to other parties.Statewide Voter Registration Summary, New Jersey Department of State, December 1, 2021. Accessed January 3, 2022.
As of the 2001 apportionment, the district includes communities in Burlington and Camden counties along the Delaware River. The district had a larger-than-average African-American community, and has low numbers of college graduates, foreign-born individuals and Hispanics. Property values per person were low and tax rates were comparatively high across the district.District 7 Profile, Rutgers University. Accessed June 23, 2010.
Political representation
The legislative district is almost entirely located within New Jersey's 3rd congressional district, except for Palmyra, which is in the 1st district.
1965–1973 In the interim period between the 1964 Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims which required the creation of state legislature districts to be made as equal in population as possible and the 1973 creation of the 40-district map, the 7th district consisted of all of Middlesex County. Two senators were elected at-large from the district in the 1965 election, and for the next two elections, three senators were elected. The Senate district was split into three districts for electing members of the Assembly for the 1967, 1969, and 1971 elections; each district elected two members to the Assembly. In addition, the 1971 also included an additional member of the Assembly sent to Trenton elected by the county at-large.
The members elected to the Senate from this district are as follows: Session Senatorselected 1966–1967 2 John A. Lynch Sr. (D) J. Edward Crabiel (D) 1968–1969 3 John A. Lynch Sr. (D) J. Edward Crabiel (D) Norman Tanzman (D) 1970–1971 1972–1973 3 John A. Lynch Sr. (D) J. Edward Crabiel (D) Norman Tanzman (D)
The members elected to the Assembly from each district are as follows: Session District 7A District 7B District 7C District 7 at-large 1968–1969 Peter P. Garibaldi (R) Robert K. Haelig (R) John J. Fay Jr. (D) Richard A. Olsen (R) Frank J. Coury (R) Robert Wilentz (D) 1970–1971 Robert K. Haelig (R) Donald Macrae (R) John J. Fay Jr. (D) Peter P. Garibaldi (R) Martin E. Kravarik (R) Thomas J. Deverin (D) 1972–1973 William J. Hamilton (D) James Bornheimer (D) John J. Fay Jr. (D) Edwin A. Kolodziej (D) Peter P. Garibaldi (R) John H. Froude (D) Thomas J. Deverin (D)
District composition since 1973 Upon the creation of the 40-district legislative map in 1973, the 7th district started out similar to how it looked throughout its modern history, encompassing the north-central Burlington County townships of Mount Laurel and Lumberton, wrapping around the west and north side of Mount Holly to Springfield Township and Wrightstown. For the 1981 redistricting, the district became more narrow only including municipalities along the Delaware between Pennsauken in Camden County to Burlington Township (also including Maple Shade, Willingboro, and Westampton townships). Thomas P. Foy was named in November 1990 to fill a vacancy in the Senate left by Catherine A. Costa who left office to become Director of the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.Staff. "FOY PICKED TO FILL COSTA'S SENATE SEAT", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 30, 1990. Accessed June 23, 2010. In a party convention in January 1991, Jack Casey was chosen to fill the remaining portion of Foy's term in the General Assembly.Staff. "CASEY TO TAKE FOY SEAT DEMOCRATS PICK PALMYRA LEADER", The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 13, 1991. Accessed June 20, 1010.
In the 1991 redistricting, the only change made to the district's boundary was the addition of Mount Holly. The district had been voting solidly Democratic until the anti-tax vote in 1991 brought in Republicans Bradford S. Smith in the Senate, who unseated Democratic incumbent Thomas P. Foy. In the Assembly race that year, Priscilla B. Anderson and José F. Sosa won the seats held by Jack Casey and Barbara Kalik.Staff. "ADLER WINS AMID WAVE OF DEMOCRATIC LOSSES", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 6, 1991. Accessed June 23, 2010. In the 1993 elections, the Republicans held on to their majorities in both houses of the legislature, but Democrats were able to retake the seats in the 7th district, with Jack Casey winning in the Senate and Steven M. Petrillo and George E. Williams in the Assembly.Staff. "DEMOCRATS GAIN LEGISLATIVE SEATS", The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 3, 1993. Accessed June 23, 2010. Williams would later switch parties in June 1995, after being denied support from local party leaders for re-nomination. In the 1995 general election, Diane Allen and Republican running mate Carmine DeSopo were elected, defeating Democratic incumbent Steven M. Petrillo and Williams's replacement on the ticket, newcomer Joseph P. Dugan. The $1.1 million spent in the 1995 Assembly race made it the first in New Jersey to cross the $1 million spending mark, as reported in the results of a study conducted by the Center for the Analysis of Public Issues of Princeton that analyzed campaign finance reports from candidates for all 80 Assembly seats.Pristin, Terry. "New Jersey Daily Briefing;$1 Million Campaign Costs", The New York Times, March 13, 1996. Accessed June 22, 2010.Staff. Assembly Campaign spending rises, especially in some South Jersey. They most expensive race costs $1.4 million, The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 14, 1996. Accessed June 22, 2010. "The District 7 race in Burlington and Camden Counties, eventually won by the Republican ticket of Diane Allen and Carmine DeSopo, was the most expensive in the state, totaling $1.5 million, according to Upmeyer's analysis of campaign finance reports."
In the 1997 elections, Republican Diane Allen ran for and won the Senate seat. Democrats Herb Conaway and Jack Conners were the winners in the 1997 Assembly race. After eight months in office, the courts threw out the results of the 1997 election due to problems with a voting machine that affected the results for the second seat. Conners was ordered to leave office in September 1998 and have his seat declared vacant. As Republicans were the last winners of the Assembly seat, the Burlington County Republican Committee was entitled to choose a person to fill the vacant seat. Republican Ken Faulkner, the highest Republican vote-getter in the 1997 election was chosen and seated until a special election could be held.Staff. "Conners Ordered To Leave Assembly \ A Disputed Election Led To A Ruling That A Republican Must Take His Seat, Setting Stage For Rematch With Ken Faulkner.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 3, 1998. Accessed June 23, 2010. In a November 1998 special election, Conners defeated Faulkner and was sworn into office for a second time that year.via Associated Press, "Democrat Regains Assembly Seat In 'Do-Over' Race", The Press of Atlantic City, November 4, 1998. Accessed June 23, 2010. Conaway and Connors would both be re-elected in 1999.
In the 2001 reapportionment, Camden County's Merchantville and Burlington's Florence Township were added to the 7th district. Allen, Conaway, and Connors continued to win re-election through this decade's elections. As part of the 2011 reapportionment, municipalities that had been in the district since the 2001 apportionment were removed including Maple Shade, Merchantville, and Pennsauken (moved to the 6th district) and Mount Holly and Westampton townships (moved to the 8th district).Municipalities Index, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 26, 2012. Added to the district starting in 2011 were Fieldsboro and the city and township of Bordentown (added from the 30th district) and Moorestown and Mount Laurel (added from the 8th district). On March 29, 2011, Conners announced that due to redistricting, he would not seek another term to the Assembly in 2011. He announced his resignation on August 26, 2011, effective immediately to accept a position with Camden County as its director of veterans' affairs.Levinsky, David. "Conners leaves Assembly early to accept Camden County position" , Burlington County Times, August 26, 2011. Accessed January 26, 2012. Troy Singleton was selected by the Burlington and Camden County Democratic committees to fill the vacant seat in September 2011.Levinsky, David. "Singleton gets 7th District seat" , Burlington County Times, September 14, 2011. Accessed January 26, 2012. "Democrat Troy Singleton will get the chance to serve a few months in the Assembly seat he hopes to win in November, courtesy of the Burlington County and Camden County Democratic committees." Singleton won in the November general election and was sworn in on November 21, 2011, to finish the remainder of Conners' term,Levinsky, David. , Burlington County Times, November 22, 2011. Accessed January 26, 2012. "Singleton, of Palmyra, took over the 7th District seat vacated last summer by Jack Conners of Pennsauken, who resigned to become Camden County’s director of veterans’ affairs." and was sworn into his first full term on January 10, 2012.Staff. "Turnover in N.J. Legislature is slight", Asbury Park Press, January 10, 2012. Accessed January 26, 2012. "LD7: Assemblyman Troy Singleton, D-Burlington ... Already a member of the Legislature, sworn in Nov. 21 but selected for the post earlier to run as an incumbent, after Jack Conners resigned to take a job in Camden County government."
Allen declined to run for another term in 2017 due to health concerns, ending twenty years of service in the Senate. Singleton and Conaway both contemplated runs for the open Senate seat, with Singleton declaring his candidacy and Conaway later deciding to run for re-election. In November, Singleton won in a landslide, turning the Senate seat Democratic, with Conaway getting re-elected and Carol A. Murphy winning Singleton's Assembly seat. In 2024, Conaway was elected to represented New Jersey's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, and resigned his Assembly seat upon taking office in 2025.
Election history