New Jersey's 7th congressional district

"NJ-7" redirects here. NJ-7 may also refer to New Jersey Route 7.
New Jersey's 7th congressional district
District map as of 2013
Current Representative Leonard Lance (R–Clinton Township)
Area 595.03 mi2 (1,541.13 km2)
Distribution 90.38% urban, 9.62% rural
Population (2009) 669,857
Median income $48,556[1]
Ethnicity 79.0% White, 5.7% Black, 10.9% Asian, 10.4% Hispanic, 0.1% Native American, 3.1% other
Cook PVI R+6

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

In the 2014 general election, Republican incumbent Leonard Lance held his seat against Democratic challenger Janice Kovach.[2]

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 Short Hills neighborhood)

Hunterdon County (entire county):

Alexandria Township, Bethlehem Township, Bloomsbury, Califon, Clinton, Clinton Township, Flemington, Glen Gardner, Hampton, High Bridge, Holland Township, Lebanon, Lebanon Township, Milford, Raritan Township, Readington Township, Tewksbury Township, Union 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, Winfield Township

Warren County:

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

Voting

House of Representatives elections

2014 New Jersey 7th District General Election[4]
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
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
Turnout
Republican hold Swing
House of Representatives election 2010: New Jersey congressional district 7
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Leonard Lance 104,642 59.4%
Democratic Ed Potosnak 71,486 40.6%
Majority
Turnout
Republican hold Swing
House of Representatives election 2008: New Jersey congressional district 7
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%
House of Representatives election 2006: New Jersey congressional district 7
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%
House of Representatives election 2004: New Jersey congressional district 7
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
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

History

In the 2012 general election, Republican incumbent Leonard Lance held his seat against Democratic challenger Upendra J. Chivukula.[5] 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.[6][7] 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.[8]

In the 2008 election, 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 2008 general election, Lance defeated Assemblywoman Linda Stender by a margin of 25,833 votes and became the Congressman.[9]

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 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 have historically voted reliably Democratic were moved into the 12th district to shore up the Democratic incumbent's hold on the adjacent 12th district. 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.

District 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. The district has become more mixed in terms of ethnic backgrounds with Caucasians now comprising, as of 2009, 79 percent of the racial makeup of the district, African Americans 5.7 percent, Asians 11 percent and Latinos 10 percent of the district. In addition, the district is home to a large group of foreign born residents, who totaled 131,000 or 20 percent of the population, in 2009.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://bigstory.ap.org/article/party-rich-congress-its-democrats
  2. ↑ http://politics.news12.com/new-jersey/election-results/
  3. ↑ Plan Components Report, New Jersey Department of State. Accessed June 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2014-results/2014-official-general-results-us-house.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/nj_7th_congressional_district.html
  6. ↑ http://www.edpotosnak.com/press-releases/319-potosnak-files-2012-bid-for-us-congress-in-njs-7th-congressional-district.html
  7. ↑ http://www.politickernj.com/47411/choi-announces-congressional-candidacy
  8. ↑ http://www.politickernj.com/53944/potosnak-ends-cd-7-run-take-job-ed-league-conservation-voters
  9. ↑ "Local and National Election Results - Election Center 2008 - Elections & Politics from CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  10. ↑ 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=

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

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