New Jersey is one of the fifty U.S. states. The state is considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has supported the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992. Democrats have also controlled both chambers of the state legislature since 2004. New Jersey currently has two Democratic United States senators. New Jersey's Class I Senate seat has been Democratic since 1959 (aside from the eight-month tenure of Nicholas F. Brady in 1982). New Jersey's Class II Senate seat has been Democratic since 1979 (aside from the four-month tenure of Jeffrey Chiesa in 2013). In addition, New Jersey's House congressional delegation has had a Democratic majority since 1965, except for a period between 1995–1999 and 2013–2017. As of July 1, 2020, there were more registered Democrats than unaffiliated voters for the first time in history, as there are more Democrats than Republicans as well.
History
American Revolution In 1776, the first constitution of New Jersey was drafted. Written during the American Revolution, it created a basic framework for state government and allowed "all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money" to vote (including blacks, spinsters, and widows); married women could not own property under common law. The constitution declared itself temporary and void if there was reconciliation with Great Britain.Klinghoffer and Elkis. "The Petticoat Electors: Women’s Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776–1807." Journal of the Early Republic, 12, no. 2 (1992): 159–193.Connors, R. J. (1775). New Jersey's Revolutionary Experience [Pamphlet]. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Historical Commission. Both parties in elections mocked the other party for relying on "petticoat electors", and accused each other of allowing unqualified women to vote. The state voted for Washington in 1789 and 1792, as well as Adams in 1796.
Nineteenth century The second version of the constitution was adopted on June 29, 1844, and restricted suffrage to white males. Important components of the second state constitution included the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The new constitution also provided a bill of rights, and granted voters (instead of the legislature) the right to elect the governor. It also allowed gubernatorial veto power and appointment of high-level officials.
Throughout the century, the state voted for the Federalist Party twice, the Democratic-Republican Party five times, the National Republican Party once, the Whig Party four times, the Democratic Party ten times, and the Republican Party three times.
Twentieth century The 20th century saw the nonwhite population grow rapidly, altering the political landscape. Between 1915 and 1920, the first Great Migration of African Americans from the South brought in thousands of migrants into New Jersey cities, with Newark and Camden both having their black populations double in that time. During the 1920s, the black population grew by 78%, with Newark again doubling its black population. African Americans became a solidly Democratic voting bloc starting in the 1930s under FDR. During the 1980s, a significant number of Asian Americans immigrated to the northeastern and central parts of the state and tended to vote Democratic. Since the 1980s, the Latin American population in New Jersey, who also tended to vote Democratic, has grown significantly, particularly in the northeastern and central parts of the state, as well as Camden and Cumberland County. another group that tended to vote Democratic. In contrast, voters in suburban New Jersey were overwhelmingly white, and more likely to vote Republican.
The 1844 constitution had a confusing and unwieldy court system, as well as an extremely powerful legislature with a weak governor. In 1947, a new Constitution was established, which largely reorganized the judicial system into a hierarchical structure. Gubernatorial terms were extended from three to four years, the governor's term limit extended from one to two terns, and all executive agencies were placed directly under gubernatorial control.
From 1894 to 1973, Republicans usually controlled both houses of the state legislature (with the exceptions of 1907, 1911, 1913–1914, 1932, 1937, 1958–1963, 1966–1967). From 1900 to 1944, New Jersey voted for Democrats five times, and voted for Republicans seven times. After World War II, New Jersey was a Republican-leaning swing state in presidential elections; from the 1948 to the 1988, Republican candidates won nine out of eleven elections. John F. Kennedy won New Jersey in 1960 by 22,000 votes, and Lyndon B. Johnson won in 1964 as a part of his landslide victory, garnering the second-highest percent of the popular vote in history after 1920. The governor of the state swung between both parties every one to four election cycles throughout the entire century.
The two seats for the United States Senate were swing seats in the first half of the century, although they leaned Republican. At least one seat has been in Democratic control since 1959, and both seats have been held by Democrats since 1978, with the exception of April 1982-December 1982, when Nicholas F. Brady was appointed to the Senate by Governor Thomas Kean after the resignation of Harrison A. Williams. Republicans dominated the majority of seats to the United States House of Representatives from 1895 to 1965, with the exception of 1911–1914, 1923–1924, and 1937–1938. Democrats have controlled a majority of seats since 1965, with the exception of 1995–1998.
Since 1992, New Jersey has voted for Democrats in every presidential election. Bill Clinton won a plurality of New Jersey's popular vote that year, and a majority of New Jersey's popular vote in 1996. Among Republican New Jersey voters, those living in rural parts of the state tended to vote for conservative Republicans; suburban voters tended to prefer liberal, or moderate, Republicans.
Twenty-first century
Since 2002, the New Jersey Legislature has been overwhelmingly Democratic. Democrats won a majority in the New Jersey General Assembly in the 2001 election and a majority in the New Jersey Senate in the 2001 election. As of October 2024, there were over 917,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. Democrats tend to do well in areas near New York City, Philadelphia, and Trenton, and cities such as Jersey City, Newark, Camden, Elizabeth, Trenton, and Paterson are overwhelmingly Democratic. These cities influence their respective counties (namely Hudson, Essex, Camden, Union, Mercer, and Passaic) to vote Democratic. Predominantly suburban and rural counties, especially those along the Jersey Shore and in northwestern New Jersey, tend to vote Republican; these include counties such as Ocean, Warren, Cape May, and Sussex. Other counties, such as Atlantic, Morris, and Cumberland, are considered "swing" counties; they tend to vote closely within the margins of each party, swaying in one direction or the other with each election.
Statistics The 2016 presidential election in New Jersey was won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 12 counties, while Republican Donald Trump won nine counties; overall, Clinton carried the state with a vote percentage of 55.45 to 41.35 percent. Trump won two counties (Gloucester and Salem) which had voted Democratic in 2012. Every county voted identically in 2016 and the 2017 gubernatorial election with the exception of Gloucester, which flipped back to Democratic. In the 2018 United States Senate election, Atlantic and Gloucester Counties flipped Republican. In the 2020 presidential election, Biden flipped Atlantic, Gloucester, and Morris counties from the 2018 elections. In the 2024 presidential election, Trump flipped back Gloucester and Morris counties, both of which he won in 2016, from the 2020 elections. He also flipped Atlantic, Cumberland, and Passaic counties, all of which voted Democratic in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Atlantic and Cumberland counties had previously been won by Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli in the 2021 gubernatorial election. All counties voted identically in the simultaneous 2024 United States Senate election as they did the presidential election, with the exception of Gloucester and Passaic, which were both won by Democratic candidate Andy Kim by slim margins. Mikie Sherrill flipped Atlantic, Cumberland, and Morris counties to Democratic in the 2025 gubernatorial election. +County votes for 2016 Presidential, 2017 Gubernatorial, 2018 Senate, 2020 Presidential, 2020 Senate, 2021 Gubernatorial, 2024 Presidential, 2024 Senate 2025 GubernatorialCounty2016 Presidential2017 Gubernatorial2018 Senate2020 Presidential2020 Senate2021 Gubernatorial2024 Presidential2024 Senate2025 GubernatorialAtlanticClintonMurphyHuginBidenBookerCiattarelliTrumpBashawSherrillBergenClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillBurlingtonClintonMurphyMenendez BidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillCamdenClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillCape MayTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliCumberlandClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerCiattarelliTrumpBashawSherrillEssexClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillGloucesterTrumpMurphyHuginBidenBookerCiattarelliTrumpKimSherrillHudsonClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillHunterdonTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliMercerClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillMiddlesexClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillMonmouthTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliMorrisTrumpGuadagnoHuginBidenBookerCiattarelliTrumpBashawSherrillOceanTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliPassaicClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyTrumpKimSherrillSalemTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliSomersetClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillSussexTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelliUnionClintonMurphyMenendezBidenBookerMurphyHarrisKimSherrillWarrenTrumpGuadagnoHuginTrumpMehtaCiattarelliTrumpBashawCiattarelli
Recent registration statistics Nine counties (Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Passaic, and Union) have a plurality of Democratic registrants, and five (Cape May, Hunterdon, Ocean, Sussex, and Warren) have a plurality of Republican registrants; the remaining seven have a majority of unaffiliated voters. Of those with an unaffiliated majority, four counties have more Democrats than Republicans (Atlantic, Bergen, Cumberland and Somerset) and three counties (Monmouth, Morris, and Salem) have more Republicans than Democrats.
Two counties (Essex and Hudson) have an absolute majority of their registrants in one party (Democratic). The highest percentage of unaffiliated voters is in Cumberland at 40.13 percent. The highest percentage of Democrats is in Hudson at 51.63 percent, the highest percentage of Republicans is in Cape May at 44.31 percent, and the highest percentage registered in other parties is in Cumberland at 1.80 percent. The lowest percentage of unaffiliated is in Hunterdon at 30.56 percent, Democrats is in Ocean at 20.25 percent, Republicans is in Essex at 11.00 percent, and other parties in Hunterdon at 0.85 percent. Bergen County has the largest number of registered voters at 696,442, and Salem County has the least at 50,579.