19th Legislative District (New Jersey)

New Jersey's 19th Legislative district
New Jersey State Senator Joseph Vitale (D)
New Jersey General Assemblymembers Craig Coughlin (D)
John Wisniewski (D)
Registration 39.4% Democratic
Demographics 58.8% White
10.5% Black/African American
0.5% Native American
15.5% Asian
0.0% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
11.2% Other race
3.5% Two or more races
30.6% Hispanic
Population 224,578
Voting-age population 171,915
Registered voters 124,743

New Jersey's 19th Legislative District is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature. As of the 2011 apportionment, the district includes the Middlesex County municipalities of Carteret Borough, Perth Amboy City, Sayreville Borough, South Amboy City and Woodbridge Township.[1][2]

Demographic characteristics

As of the 2010 United States Census, the district had a population of 224,578, of whom 171,915 (76.6%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 132,142 (58.8%) White, 23,516 (10.5%) African American, 1,071 (0.5%) Native American, 34,762 (15.5%) Asian, 96 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 25,194 (11.2%) from some other race, and 7,797 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 68,729 (30.6%) of the population.[3] The district had 124,743 registered voters as of November 2013, of whom 63,167 (50.6%) were registered as Unaffiliated, 49,154 (39.4%) were registered as Democrats, 12,327 (9.9%) were registered as Republicans and 95 (0.1%) were registered to other parties.[4]

The district has a higher-than-average percentage of Asian American and Hispanic residents. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nearly 4 to 1 margin, with Republican registration percentage one of the lowest of any district statewide.[5][6]

Apportionment history

There were no changes to the district made as part of the New Jersey Legislative redistricting in 2001, based on the results of the 2000 United States Census.[7]

Political representation

For the 2014-2015 Session, the district is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Vitale (D, Woodbridge Township) and in the General Assembly by Craig Coughlin (D, Woodbridge Township) and John Wisniewski (D, Sayreville).[8][9]

Election history

In the 1977 Democratic primaries, Laurence S. Weiss defeated incumbent senator John J. Fay, Jr., and went on to win election.[10]

Alan Karcher chose to run for the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 1989, and was replaced in the Assembly by future Governor Jim McGreevey.[11]

Having first been elected to the Assembly in 1973, George Otlowski lost a three-way race for the two Assembly seats in the 1991 primary election.[12] In the statewide Republican landslide in the 1991 general election, Weiss lost his Senate seat to Randy Corman, while in the Assembly Stephen A. Mikulak and Ernest L. Oros defeated Democratic candidates Thomas J. Deverin and Jay Ziznewski, putting Republicans in all three legislative seats in what had been described by The New York Times as a "blue-collar and traditionally rock-solid Democratic district".[13]

In the 1993 race, Jim McGreevey won the Senate seat back for the Democrats over Randy Corman, with Republican incumbents Mikulak and Oros hanging on to their seats in the Assembly.[14][15]

Democrats statewide saw a net gain of three seats in the Assembly in the 1995 elections, with two of the pickups coming in the 19th District where Arline Friscia and John Wisniewski knocked off the Republican incumbents Mikulak and Oros.[16]

McGreevey stepped down from his Senate seat in 1997 to run for Governor of New Jersey and was replaced by Joseph Vitale. After McGreevey's narrow loss to Republican Christine Todd Whitman, The Record reported speculation that Vitale would step down from the Senate and McGreevey would be named to the Senate seat, a rumor that McGreevey dismissed.[17]

In the 2003 Democratic primary, Friscia lost the official endorsement of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, which went instead to Perth Amboy mayor Joseph Vas, leading Friscia to switch her party affiliation and become a Republican. Friscia objected to being knocked off the party line, stating that "a history of women being knocked off tickets in Middlesex County" exists as "part of a long sad history of the Democratic Party disenfranchising qualified women".[18] Vas and Wisniewski both won in the 2003 general elections.[19]

On September 8, 2009, a special convention of Middlesex County Democratic Committee members selected Craig Coughlin to appear on the general election ballot along with incumbent Wisniewski, and the two Democrats went on to win in the November general election.[20][21]

Session State Senate[22] Assembly[23]
1976-1977 John J. Fay, Jr. Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1978-1979 Laurence S. Weiss Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1980-1981 Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1982-1983 Laurence S. Weiss Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1984-1985 Laurence S. Weiss Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1986-1987 Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1988-1989 Laurence S. Weiss Alan Karcher George Otlowski
1990-1991[24] Jim McGreevey George Otlowski
1992-1993 Randy Corman Stephen A. Mikulak Ernest L. Oros
1994-1995[15] Jim McGreevey Stephen A. Mikulak Ernest L. Oros
1996-1997 Arline Friscia John Wisniewski
1998-1999[25] Joseph Vitale Arline Friscia John Wisniewski
2000-2001[26] Arline Friscia John Wisniewski
2002-2003[27] Joseph Vitale Arline Friscia John Wisniewski
2004-2005[19] Joseph Vitale Joseph Vas John Wisniewski
2006-2007 Joseph Vas John Wisniewski
2008-2009 Joseph Vitale Joseph Vas John Wisniewski
2010-2011[21] Craig Coughlin John Wisniewski
2012-2013 Joseph Vitale Craig Coughlin John Wisniewski
2014-2015[28] Joseph Vitale Craig Coughlin John Wisniewski

References

  1. ↑ Districts by Number, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  2. ↑ Municipalities (sorted by 2011 legislative district), New Jersey Department of State. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 from the 2010 Demographic Profile Data for the General Assembly District 19 (2010), New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ Statewide Voter Registration Summary, New Jersey Department of State, November 28, 2013. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ District 19 Profile, Rutgers University. Accessed July 1, 2010.
  6. ↑ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book. Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. p. 86.
  7. ↑ Legislative Districts, New Jersey Legislature, backed up by the Internet Archive as of December 6, 1998. Accessed July 6, 2010.
  8. ↑ Legislative Roster 2014-2015 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ District 19 Legislators, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ Waggoner, Walter H. "G.O.P. Faces Aggressive Challenge In Central Jersey Assembly Race", The New York Times, October 14, 1977. Accessed July 7, 2010.
  11. ↑ Fastenberg, Dan. "An American First", Columbia College Today, July / August 2007. Accessed July 6, 2010.
  12. ↑ Staff. "ELECTION FOCUS SHIFTS TO NOVEMBER", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 6, 1991. Accessed July 6, 2010. "In the 19th District, also in Middlesex County, Assemblyman George Otlowski lost a three-way fight for the two Democratic nominations there."
  13. ↑ Gray, Jerry. "Tax Increase Turns a Once-Confident New Jersey Senator Nervous", The New York Times, November 1, 1991. Accessed July 6, 2010.
  14. ↑ via Associated Press. "ELECTION '93 / GOP LOSES SEVERAL SENATE SEATS BUT GAINS AS MANY IN ASSEMBLY", The Press of Atlantic City, November 3, 1993. Accessed July 6, 2010. "Randy Corman of Sayreville fell to Woodbridge Mayor James McGreevey, but Assemblymen Steven Mikulak and Ernest Oros held on for narrow victories."
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sullivan, Joseph F. "THE 1993 ELECTIONS: New Jersey Legislature; Cut Taxes 30 Percent? Whitman's Top Statehouse Allies Say Not So Fast", The New York Times, November 4, 1993. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  16. ↑ Associated Press. "DEMOCRATS CHIP AWAY AT GOP IN ASSEMBLY", The Press of Atlantic City, November 8, 1995. Accessed July 7, 2010. "In the 19th, the Democratic sweep will bring John Wisniewski and Arline Friscia to office."
  17. ↑ Tedeschi, Bruno. "MCGREEVEY RULES OUT RETURN TO SENATE POST", The Record (Bergen County), November 9, 1997. Accessed July 7, 2010.
  18. ↑ Fitzgerald, Barbara. Reflections on a Glass Ceiling", The New York Times, August 10, 2003. Accessed June 3, 2010.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Kocieniewski, David. "THE 2003 ELECTION: THE STATEHOUSE; Democrats Seize Senate And Widen Assembly Gap", The New York Times, November 5, 2003. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  20. ↑ Chang, Kathy. "Coughlin wins vote to run for Assembly", Brick Township Bulletin, September 9, 2009. Accessed July 7, 2010.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Staff. "2009 Election Results", The New York Times, November 9, 2009. Accessed July 1, 2010.
  22. ↑ NJ Senate District 19 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed July 6, 2010.
  23. ↑ NJ Assembly 19 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed July 6, 2010.
  24. ↑ Staff. "Vote Totals for the Elections Held on Tuesday in New York and New Jersey", The New York Times, November 9, 1989. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  25. ↑ Staff. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for the New Jersey Assembly", The New York Times, November 5, 1997. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  26. ↑ Kocieniewski, David. "THE 1999 ELECTIONS: NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLY; Democrats Win Seats in Three Districts, Narrowing Republicans' Majority", The New York Times, November 3, 1999. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  27. ↑ Staff. "THE 2001 ELECTIONS; RESULTS -- The Races for New Jersey", The New York Times, November 8, 2001. Accessed June 23, 2010.
  28. ↑ Official List; Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/05/2013 Election, New Jersey Department of State, December 4, 2013. Accessed January 31, 2014.