New Jersey's 7th congressional district

New Jersey's 7th congressional district

District map as of 2013
Current Representative Leonard Lance (R–Clinton Township)
Area 595.03 sq mi (1,541.1 km2)
Distribution
  • 90.38% urban
  • 9.62% rural
Population (2009) 669,857
Median income 101,746[1]
Ethnicity
Cook PVI R+3[2]

New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District is represented by Republican Leonard Lance.

Republican incumbent Leonard Lance was re-elected on November 8th, 2016.

The district from 2003 to 2013

Counties and municipalities in the district

For the 113th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2010 United States Census), the congressional district contains portions of four counties and 54 municipalities.[3]

Essex County:

Millburn (which includes the Short Hills neighborhood)

Hunterdon County (entire county):

Alexandria Township, Bethlehem Township, Bloomsbury, Califon, Clinton Town, Clinton Township, Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington, Franklin Township, Frenchtown, Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Holland Township, Kingwood Township, Lambertville, Lebanon Borough, Lebanon Township, Milford, Raritan Township, Readington Township, Stockton, Tewksbury Township, Union Township and West Amwell Township

Morris County:

Chester Borough, Chester Township, Dover, Long Hill Township, Mine Hill Township, Mount Arlington, Mount Olive Township, Netcong, Roxbury Township, Washington Township and Wharton

Somerset County:

Bedminster Township, Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Branchburg Township, Bridgewater Township, Far Hills, Green Brook Township, Hillsborough Township, Millstone, Montgomery Township, North Plainfield, Peapack-Gladstone, Raritan, Rocky Hill, Somerville, Warren Township and Watchung

Union County:

Berkeley Heights, Clark, Cranford, Garwood, Kenilworth, Mountainside, New Providence, Scotch Plains (part), Springfield, Summit, Union Township (part), Westfield and Winfield Township

Warren County:

Alpha, Franklin Township, Greenwich Township, Harmony Township, Lopatcong Township, Phillipsburg and Pohatcong Township

Voting

House of Representatives elections

2016 New Jersey 7th District General Election [4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Leonard Lance 185,850 54.08%
Democratic Peter Jacob 148,188 43.12%
Libertarian Dan O'Neill 5,343 1.56%
Conservative Arthur T. Haussmann, jr. 4,254 0.01%
Majority 37,662 11.0%
Turnout 343,635
Republican hold Swing
2014 New Jersey 7th District General Election [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Leonard Lance 104,287 59.25%
Democratic Janice Kovach 68,232 38.77%
Libertarian Jim Gawron 3,478 1.98%
Majority 36,055 20.5%
Turnout 175,997
Republican hold Swing
2012 New Jersey 7th District General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Leonard Lance 175,662 57.2%
Democratic Upendra Chivukula 123,057 40.0%
Independent Dennis Breen 4,518 1.5%
Libertarian Patrick McKnight 4,078 1.3%
Majority 52,605 17.1%
Turnout 307,315
Republican hold Swing
2010 New Jersey 7th District General Election[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Leonard Lance 104,642 59.4%
Democratic Ed Potosnak 71,486 40.6%
Majority 33,156 18.9%
Turnout 176,128
Republican hold Swing
2008 New Jersey 7th District General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Leonard Lance 142,092 50.8% +1.4
Democratic Linda Stender 116,255 41.6% -6.4
Independent Michael Hsing 15,826 5.7% N/A
Independent Dean Greco 3,008 1.1% N/A
Independent Thomas Abrams 2,408 .9% -.7
Majority 25,837 9.2% +7.7
Turnout 279,589
Republican hold Swing -3.9%
2006 New Jersey 7th District General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Mike Ferguson 98,399 49.4% -7.5
Democratic Linda Stender 95,454 48.0% +6.3
Independent Thomas Abrams 3,176 1.6% +.8%
Libertarian Darren Young 2,046 1.0% N/A
Majority 2,945 1.5% -13.7
Turnout 199,075
Republican hold Swing +6.9%
2004 New Jersey 7th District General Election
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Mike Ferguson 162,597 56.9% -1.1
Democratic Steve Brozak 119,081 41.7% +.8
Independent Thomas Abrams 2,153 .8% N/A
Independent Matthew Williams 2,046 .7% N/A
Majority 43,516 15.2%
Turnout 285,877
Republican hold Swing +1.0%

Presidential elections

Election results from presidential races
Year Office Results
2016 President Clinton 49 - 47.5%
2012 President Romney 52.5 - 46.3%
2008 President Obama 51 - 48%
2004 President Bush 53 - 47%
2000 President Bush 49 - 48%

Representatives

Representative Party Years District home Note
District created March 4, 1873
Isaac W. Scudder Republican March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 Jersey City Retired
Augustus Albert Hardenbergh Democratic March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879 Jersey City Retired
Lewis A. Brigham Republican March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 Jersey City Lost re-election
Augustus Albert Hardenbergh Democratic March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883 Jersey City Retired
William McAdoo Democratic March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1891 Jersey City Lost re-nomination
Edward F. McDonald Democratic March 4, 1891 – November 5, 1892 Harrison Died in office
Vacant November 5, 1892 – March 3, 1893
George Bragg Fielder Democratic March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 Jersey City Retired
Thomas McEwan, Jr. Republican March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899 Jersey City Retired
William Davis Daly Democratic March 4, 1899 – July 31, 1900 Hoboken Died in office
Vacant July 31, 1900 – December 3, 1900
Allan Langdon McDermott Democratic December 3, 1900 – March 3, 1903 Jersey City Redistricted to the 10th district
Richard W. Parker Republican March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1911 Newark Redistricted from the 6th district
Edward W. Townsend Democratic March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1913 Montclair Redistricted to the 10th district
Robert G. Bremner Democratic March 4, 1913 – February 5, 1914 Totowa Died in office
Vacant February 5, 1914 – April 7, 1914
Dow H. Drukker Republican April 7, 1914 – March 3, 1919 Passaic Retired
Amos H. Radcliffe Republican March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1923 Paterson Lost re-election
George N. Seger Republican March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1933 Passaic Redistricted to the 8th district
Randolph Perkins Republican March 4, 1933 – May 25, 1936 Woodcliff Lake Died in office
Vacant May 25, 1936 – January 3, 1937
J. Parnell Thomas Republican January 3, 1937 – January 2, 1950 Allendale Resigned upon being convicted of fraud
Vacant January 2, 1950 – February 6, 1950
William B. Widnall Republican February 6, 1950 – December 31, 1974 Hackensack Lost re-election, resigned
Andrew Maguire Democratic January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981 Ridgewood Lost re-election
Marge Roukema Republican January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983 Ridgewood Redistricted to the 5th district
Matthew John Rinaldo Republican January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993 Union Township Retired
Bob Franks Republican January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001 Summit Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Mike Ferguson Republican January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2009 Warren Township Retired
Leonard Lance Republican January 3, 2009 – present Clinton Township Incumbent

Recent changes

The district has been progressing in a different direction in the past few years, turning from a once reliable Republican district to a competitive district as it has become more ethnically mixed with Caucasians comprising, as of 2009, 79% of the district, African Americans 5.7%, Asians 11% and Latinos 10%. In addition, the district is home to a large group of foreign-born residents, totaling 131,000 or 20% of the population.[8] In spring 2017, several Democrats have indicated they will challenge incumbent Leonard Lance in the 2018 election, and they include Scotch Plains lawyer Scott Salmon, Westfield teacher and attorney Lisa Mandelblatt,[9][10] and Berkeley Heights banking executive Linda Weber.[11]

History

In the 2012 general election, Republican incumbent Leonard Lance held his seat against Democratic challenger Upendra J. Chivukula.[12] In the 2010 general election, Democratic challenger Ed Potosnak challenged Lance, but Lance defeated Potosnak by a margin of 59% to 41%. For the 2012 election, both Potosnak and former Edison Mayor Jun Choi announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination.[13][14] Choi dropped out of the race in December 2011 after redistricting left his Edison home outside the 7th District. Potosnak dropped out of the race in January 2012 to take a position as executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, leaving a momentarily empty field for the Democratic nomination.[15]

In 2008, Mike Ferguson (who had first been elected in 2000, replacing Bob Franks) did not seek another term. Linda Stender won the Democratic nomination unopposed, while Republican primary voters chose State Senator Leonard Lance in a field of eight candidates. In the general election, Lance defeated Assemblywoman Linda Stender by a margin of 25,833 votes.[16]

2006 election

Party Candidate Votes Won Percent Won
Republican Ferguson (Incumbent) 98,399 votes 49.42%
Democrat Stender 95,454 votes 47.94%
Other Abrams 3,176 votes 1.59%
Libertarian Young 2,046 votes 1.02%

Source: NJ Division of Elections. Official 2006 Election Results..

Major issues in 2006 race

Linda Stender campaigned on the issues of stem cell research and the Iraq War, while Mike Ferguson campaigned on the issues of Ms. Stender's prior legislative record and her close ties to New Jersey's Democratic political machine.

Effect of 2000 redistricting

New Jersey's 7th district and the 12th district were redistricted after the 2000 census by a bipartisan panel. By consensus of the panel, the Democratic and Republican parties agreed to trade areas in the two districts to make them safer for their respective incumbents. It is likely that this tradeoff, which made New Jersey's 7th less competitive for Democrats, had an effect on the outcome of 2006 election, which was decided by approximately 3,000 votes. Areas of the former 7th district such as Somerset in Franklin Township (Somerset County) that had historically voted reliably Democratic were moved into the adjacent 12th district to shore up the Democratic incumbent's hold on there, while reliably Republican Millburn was moved into the 7th. Despite the redistricting, NJ-07 is still the most competitive House district in New Jersey, and was the only one considered to be in play in 2006 by political pundits.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.census.gov/mycd/
  2. ↑ "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ Plan Components Report, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed November 6, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Candidates for House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Division of Elections. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "New Jersey's 7th Congressional District election, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  6. ↑ http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2014-results/2014-official-general-results-us-house.pdf
  7. ↑ "Candidates for House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. Division of Elections. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  8. ↑ http://fastfacts.census.gov/servlet/ACSCWSFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=lynnwood+road&_county=&_cd=&_state=&_zip=08820&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_industry=
  9. ↑ Jonathan D. Salant (May 3, 2017). "They're already lining up to challenge N.J.'s Lance in 2018". NJ.com (Advance Media). Retrieved May 8, 2017. ...Lisa Mandelblatt, a teacher in Westfield ,and Scott Salmon, a lawyer from Scotch Plains, are vying for the Democratic nomination for an election still 18 months away....Salmon, 27, called Trump's election "the breaking point" and decided that he needed to run against a lawmaker who endorsed the GOP nominee....
  10. ↑ Jonathan D. Salant (May 6, 2017). "2 N.J. Republicans could face trouble with voters after Obamacare repeal vote". NJ.com (Advance Media). Retrieved May 8, 2017. ...running ... Scott Salmon, a lawyer from Scotch Plains....
  11. ↑ Jonathan D. Salant, May 14, 2017, NJ.com, Meet the newest challenger to N.J.'s Leonard Lance, Retrieved May 14, 2017
  12. ↑ http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/nj_7th_congressional_district.html
  13. ↑ http://www.edpotosnak.com/press-releases/319-potosnak-files-2012-bid-for-us-congress-in-njs-7th-congressional-district.html
  14. ↑ http://www.politickernj.com/47411/choi-announces-congressional-candidacy
  15. ↑ http://www.politickernj.com/53944/potosnak-ends-cd-7-run-take-job-ed-league-conservation-voters
  16. ↑ "Local and National Election Results - Election Center 2008 - Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.

Coordinates: 40°36′N 74°30′W / 40.60°N 74.50°W / 40.60; -74.50

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