New Jersey's 38th legislative district is one of 40 districts that make up the map for the New Jersey Legislature. It covers the Bergen County municipalities of Bergenfield, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Little Ferry, Lodi, Maywood, Moonachie, New Milford, Oradell, Paramus, River Edge, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, South Hackensack, and Teterboro.Districts, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 29, 2024.
Demographic information As of the 2020 United States census, the district had a population of 227,451, of whom 179,126 (78.8%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 135,144 (59.4%) White, 9,698 (4.3%) African American, 640 (0.3%) Native American, 36,122 (15.9%) Asian, 35 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 21,955 (9.7%) from some other race, and 23,857 (10.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48,582 (21.4%) of the population.
The district had 164,670 registered voters , of whom 66,211 (40.2%) were registered as unaffiliated, 58,905 (35.8%) were registered as Democrats, 37,911 (23.0%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,643 (1.0%) were registered to other parties.Statewide Voter Registration Summary by Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State, February 1, 2025. Accessed February 3, 2025.
Political representation
The legislative district overlaps with New Jersey's 5th and 9th congressional districts.
Apportionment history Since the creation of the 40-district legislative map in 1973, the 38th district has always included Paramus, though early in the lifetime of the 40-district map, Hackensack was also within the district. In the 1973 version of the map, and in the decade following the 1981 redistricting, Paramus and Hackensack anchored the 38th district with numerous nearby municipalities in central Bergen County compromising the remainder of the district. In the 1991 redistricting, the 38th became more of a crescent shape stretching from Cliffside Park and Palisades Park, northwest to Elmwood Park, then north and east to Paramus and Oradell. This shape was slightly modified in 2001 when that year's redistricting extended the 38th to the Hudson River picking up Fort Lee and Edgewater. The crescent shape of the district was removed in the 2011 redistricting when it changed to a T-shaped district extending out of Bergen County for the first time.
In October 2015, Anthony Cappola left the race for an Assembly seat in the 38th district and resigned from office as a member of the River Edge Borough Council, following disclosures that he had written and published a 2003 book titled Outrageous that was described as "full of racial slurs, rants and stereotypes".Ensslin, John C.; and Pugliese, Nicholas. "Outrageous author quits council seat in River Edge", The Record (Bergen County), October 2, 2015. Accessed October 7, 2015. "Embattled Republican Anthony Cappola resigned as a River Edge councilman Friday, one day after stepping down as a GOP Assembly candidate following disclosures that he had authored a book full of racial slurs, rants and stereotypes." The Bergen County Republican Organization filed suit in Passaic County, seeking to replace Cappola's spot on the ballot with Fernando Alonso and offering to cover the $100,000 cost of reprinting ballots. Bergen County Clerk John Hogan argued that absentee ballots had already been printed and distributed, with nearly ballots already completed and submitted to the Clerk's Office.Ensslin, John C. "Judge halts ballot printing until court rules on Bergen GOP replacing Assembly candidate", The Record (Bergen County), October 6, 2015. Accessed October 7, 2015. " A judge Tuesday ordered Bergen County election officials to stop processing vote-by-mail ballots in the hotly-contested 38th Legislative District until the court can rule on whether Republicans should be able to replace an Assembly candidate who has quit the race.Bergen County Clerk John Hogan said his office was instructed by a clerk for a Superior Court judge in Passaic County around 2 p.m. to halt work in the district where former GOP candidate Anthony Cappola had dropped out last week amid furor over a book he had written." The Republicans unexpectedly dropped the effort to have the candidate replaced on October 13 and Cappola later announced his intention to continue in the race. Ultimately Cappola and his running mate Mark DiPisa were defeated by Democratic incumbents Tim Eustace and Joseph Lagana.
All three seats became vacant in 2018. Robert M. Gordon resigned his Senate seat on April 4, 2018, to accept an appointment to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Democratic committee members in Bergen and Passaic Counties unanimously selected Assemblyman Lagana over Assemblyman Eustace (after the latter withdrew to back Lagana) to replace Gordon in the Senate on April 11; he took his Senate seat on April 12. The following day on April 13, Eustace resigned his seat to become deputy director of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission. Committee members selected Fair Lawn Mayor Lisa Swain and Congressional aide and former Bergenfield Council President Chris Tully as the replacements in the Assembly; they were sworn in on May 24. In the November 6, 2018, special election to complete the unexpired terms, Lagana defeated Daisy Ortiz Berger for the senate seat and Swain and Tully defeated Republicans Gail Horton and Jayme Ouellete for the two assembly seats.November 6, 2018 General Election Results 38th Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 30, 2024.Biryukov, Nikita. "Lagana, Swain, Tully Win", New Jersey Globe, November 6, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2024. "State Sen. Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Chris Tully won in the 38th legislative district and will serve the remaining year of their terms.... Swain and Tully defeat Republicans Gail Horton and Jayme Ouellette. Swain secured 38,372 votes while Tully received 37,188. They took 30% and 29% of the vote, respectively."
Election history Session Senate General Assembly 1974–1975 John Skevin (D)Edward H. Hynes (D)Paul Contillo (D) 1976–1977 Robert Burns (D)Paul Contillo (D) 1978–1979 John Skevin (D)Robert Burns (D)Paul Contillo (D) 1980–1981 John B. Paolella (R)Louis F. Kosco (R) 1982–1983 John B. Paolella (R)Pat Schuber (R)Louis F. Kosco (R) 1984–1985 Paul Contillo (D)Pat Schuber (R)Louis F. Kosco (R) 1986–1987 Pat Schuber (R)Louis F. Kosco (R) 1988–1989 Paul Contillo (D)Pat Schuber (R)Patrick J. Roma (R) 1990–1991 Pat Schuber (R)Patrick J. Roma (R)Rose Marie Heck (R) 1992–1993 Louis F. Kosco (R)Rose Marie Heck (R)Patrick J. Roma (R) 1994–1995 Louis F. Kosco (R)Rose Marie Heck (R)Patrick J. Roma (R) 1996–1997 Rose Marie Heck (R)Patrick J. Roma (R)Resigned January 10, 1997 to become a Superior Court judgeGuy Talarico (R)Appointed to the Assembly on February 20, 1997 1998–1999 Louis F. Kosco (R)Rose Marie Heck (R)Guy Talarico (R) 2000–2001 Rose Marie Heck (R)Guy Talarico (R)2002–2003 Joseph Coniglio (D)Rose Marie Heck (R)Matt Ahearn (D)Matt Ahearn (G) 2004–2005 Joseph Coniglio (D)Robert M. Gordon (D)Joan Voss (D) 2006–2007 Robert M. Gordon (D)Joan Voss (D) 2008–2009 Robert M. Gordon (D)Connie Wagner (D)Joan Voss (D) 2010–2011 Connie Wagner (D)Joan Voss (D)2012–2013 Robert M. Gordon (D)Connie Wagner (D)Resigned on October 1, 2013Tim Eustace (D)Paul Contillo (D)Appointed to the Assembly on November 18, 2013 2014–2015 Robert M. Gordon (D)Joseph Lagana (D)Tim Eustace (D) 2016–2017 Joseph Lagana (D)Tim Eustace (D) 2018–2019 Robert M. Gordon (D)Resigned on April 4, 2018 to become a Commissioner of the Board of Public UtilitiesJoseph Lagana (D)Appointed to the Senate on April 12, 2018, won a November 6, 2018 special election to complete unexpired termTim Eustace (D)Resigned on April 13, 2018 to become Deputy Director of the North Jersey District Water Supply CommissionJoseph Lagana (D)Lisa Swain (D)Appointed to the Assembly on May 24, 2018, won a November 6, 2018 special election to complete unexpired termChris Tully (D) 2020–2021 Lisa Swain (D)Chris Tully (D) 2022–2023 Joseph Lagana (D)Lisa Swain (D)Chris Tully (D) 2024–2025 Joseph Lagana (D)Lisa Swain (D)Chris Tully (D) 2026–2027 Lisa Swain (D)Chris Tully (D)
Election results Senate
General Assembly
References