2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey

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2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey
Flag of New Jersey.svg
  2002 November 2, 2004 (2004-11-02) 2006  

All 13 New Jersey seats to the United States House of Representatives
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election76
Seats won76
Seat changeSteady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote1,721,3921,514,784
Percentage52.41%46.12%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.06%Decrease2.svg 0.43%

New Jersey 2004.png
2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey.svg
2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey by county.svg

The 2004 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey were held on November 2, 2004, to determine who would represent the people of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives. This election coincided with national elections for U.S. President, and the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. There was no concurrent election for Senator or Governor in the state. New Jersey has thirteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.

Contents

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2004
PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/–
Democratic 1,721,39252.41%7Steady2.svg
Republican 1,514,78446.12%6Steady2.svg
Libertarian 16,3790.50%0Steady2.svg
Green 10,0330.31%0Steady2.svg
Independents22,0070.67%0Steady2.svg
Totals3,284,595100.00%13

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Rob Andrews won. This district covers Camden County. Shortly after losing the election, Hutchison switched parties and became a member of the Democratic Party. He was later elected to the Gloucester Township Committee and New Jersey General Assembly in 2023.

General election

Candidates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 1st congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Rob Andrews (incumbent) 201,163 75.00%
Republican Dan Hutchison 66,10924.65%
Independent Arturo Croce9310.35%
Majority135,05450.36%
Turnout 268,203
Democratic hold

District 2

Incumbent Republican Frank A. LoBiondo defeated Democrat Timothy Robb. This district covers the southern part of the state.

General election

Candidates

  • Jose Alcantara (Green)
  • Frank LoBiondo, incumbent Representative from Millville since 1995 (Republican)
  • Michael Matthews Jr. (Libertarian)
  • Willie Norwood (Independent)
  • Timothy Robb (Democratic)
  • Constantino Rozzo (Independent)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe ROctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe RNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Frank LoBiondo (incumbent) 172,779 65.09%
Democratic Timothy Robb86,79232.70%
Independent Willie Norwood1,9930.75%
Libertarian Michael Matthews Jr.1,7670.67%
Green Jose Alcantara1,5160.57%
Independent Constantino Rozzo5950.22%
Majority85,98732.39%
Turnout 265,442
Republican hold

District 3

Incumbent Republican Jim Saxton defeated Democratic State Assemblyman Herb Conaway. The district covers Burlington and Ocean counties. Twenty years later in 2024, Conaway would be elected to represent the district.

General election

Candidates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe ROctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe RNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Jim Saxton (incumbent) 195,938 63.44%
Democratic Herb Conaway 107,03434.65%
Independent Edward Forchion4,9141.59%
Libertarian Frank Orland9760.32%
Majority88,90428.78%
Turnout 308,862
Republican hold

District 4

Incumbent Republican Chris Smith defeated Democrat Amy Vasquez. This district covers 4 counties in the central part of the state.

General election

Candidates

  • Richard Edgar (Libertarian)
  • Chris Smith, incumbent Representative since 1981 (Republican)
  • Amy Vasquez, child advocate attorney [3] (Democratic)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 4th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Chris Smith (incumbent) 192,671 67.00%
Democratic Amy Vasquez92,82632.28%
Libertarian Richard Edgar2,0560.71%
Majority99,84534.72%
Turnout 287,553
Republican hold

District 5

Incumbent Republican Scott Garrett defeated Democrat Dorothea Anne Wolfe. This district covers the northern border of the state.

Democratic primary

Candidates

  • Frank Fracasso, businessman [4]
  • Dorothea Anne Wolfe, chair of the Bergen County Improvement Association [4]

Endorsements

Anne Wolfe
U.S. Senators
County party organizations

General election

Candidates

  • Scott Garrett, incumbent Representative from Wantage since 2003 (Republican)
  • Victor Kaplan (Libertarian)
  • Gregory Pason (Independent)
  • Thomas Phelan (Independent)
  • Dorothea Anne Wolfe, chair of the Bergen County Improvement Association (Democratic)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe ROctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe RNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 5th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Scott Garrett (incumbent) 171,220 57.57%
Democratic Dorothea Anne Wolfe122,25941.11%
Libertarian Victor Kaplan1,8570.62%
Independent Thomas Phelan1,5150.51%
Independent Gregory Pason5740.19%
Majority48,96116.46%
Turnout 297,425
Republican hold

District 6

Incumbent Democrat Frank Pallone defeated Republican challenger Sylvester Fernandez. Between 2003 and 2013, this district covered parts of Monmouth, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties.

General election

Candidates

  • Sylvester Fernandez (Republican)
  • Virginia Flynn (Libertarian)
  • Mac Dara Lyden (Independent)
  • Frank Pallone, incumbent Representative from Long Branch since 1988 (Democratic)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 6th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Frank Pallone Jr. (incumbent) 153,981 66.90%
Republican Sylvester Fernandez70,94230.82%
Libertarian Virginia Flynn2,8291.23%
Independent Mac Dara Lyden2,3991.04%
Majority83,03936.08%
Turnout 230,151
Democratic hold

District 7

Incumbent Republican Mike Ferguson defeated Democrat Steve Brozak. Between 2003 and 2013, this district covered parts of Middlesex, Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties.

General election

Candidates

Campaign

Brozak, a former Republican who switched party lines to run, launched his campaign with a front-page story in TheWall Street Journal. He focused his message on the management of Operation Iraqi Freedom, warning that the shortage of U.S. troops presented an insurmountable obstacle to its mission and calling for a modified strategy to subdue insurgency and create a stable government in Iraq. [5] Writing for Salon, Michelle Goldberg referred to his campaign as "a referendum on Bush's military folly". [6] Brozak also called for deregulation of stem cell research and fair trade with foreign countries. [6]

Brozak was a primetime speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, where he criticized the Bush administration for its lack of planning in advance of the invasion of Iraq. [7]

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Likely ROctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe RNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 7th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Mike Ferguson (incumbent) 162,597 56.88%
Democratic Steve Brozak119,08141.66%
Libertarian Thomas Abrams2,1530.75%
Independent Matthew Williams2,0160.71%
Majority43,51615.22%
Turnout 285,847
Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Democrat Bill Pascrell defeated Republican George Ajjan. This district covers Essex and Passaic counties.

General election

Candidates

  • George Ajjan (Republican)
  • Joseph Fortunato (Green)
  • Bill Pascrell, incumbent Representative from Paterson since 1997 (Democratic)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 8th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bill Pascrell Jr. (incumbent) 152,001 69.46%
Republican George Ajjan62,74728.68%
Green Joseph Fortunato4,0721.86%
Majority89,25440.79%
Turnout 218,820
Democratic hold

District 9

Incumbent Democrat Steve Rothman defeated Republican Edward Trawinski. This district covers mostly Bergen County.

General election

Candidates

  • David Daly (Libertarian)
  • Steve Rothman, incumbent Representative from Fair Lawn since 1997 (Democratic)
  • Edward Trawinski, former mayor of Fair Lawn [8] (Republican)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 9th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Steve Rothman (incumbent) 146,038 67.53%
Republican Edward Trawinski68,56431.71%
Libertarian David Daly1,6490.76%
Majority77,47435.83%
Turnout 216,251
Democratic hold

District 10

No Republican challenged incumbent Democrat Donald M. Payne for this seat. Only minor parties also contested the election. This district covers a heavily urbanized area, which includes the city of Newark.

General election

Candidates

  • Sara Lobman (Independent)
  • Donald M. Payne, incumbent Representative from Newark since 1989 (Democratic)
  • Toy-Ling Washington, candidate for State Senate in 2003 (Green)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 10th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Don Payne (incumbent) 155,697 96.88%
Green Toy-Ling Washington2,9271.30%
Independent Sara Lobman2,0891.82%
Majority152,77095.06%
Turnout 160,713
Democratic hold

District 11

Incumbent Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen defeated Democrat James Buell. This district covers mostly Morris County.

General election

Candidates

  • James Buell (Democratic)
  • Rodney Frelinghuysen, incumbent Representative from Harding since 1995 (Republican)
  • Austin Lett (Libertarian)
  • John Mele (Independent)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe ROctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe RNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 11th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen (incumbent) 200,915 67.88%
Democratic James Buell91,81131.02%
Independent John Mele1,7460.59%
Libertarian Austin Lett1,5300.52%
Majority109,10436.86%
Turnout 296,002
Republican hold

District 12

Incumbent Democrat Rush Holt defeated Republican Bill Spadea. This district covers 5 suburban counties in the central part of the state. After losing the election to Holt, Spadea became a radio talk show host, made a run for the General Assembly in 2012, and ran for Governor of New Jersey in 2025.

General election

Candidates

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 12th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Rush Holt (incumbent) 171,691 59.25%
Republican Bill Spadea 115,01439.69%
Libertarian Ken Chazotte1,5620.54%
Green Daryl Brooks1,5180.52%
Majority56,67719.56%
Turnout 289,785
Democratic hold

District 13

Incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez defeated Republican Richard Piatkowski. This is a heavily urbanized district.

In the primary election, Menendez easily survived a challenge from Steve Fulop, who had received national attention for resigning from Goldman Sachs to join the Marine Corps following the September 11 attacks. Fulop would later go on to serve as mayor of Jersey City and ran for Governor of New Jersey in 2025, losing the primary to Mikie Sherrill.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

Fulop was hand-picked to challenge Menendez by Jersey City mayor Glenn Cunningham, who had an ongoing bitter feud with Menendez. Cunningham died from a heart attack on May 25. [4]

Endorsements

Steve Fulop
Mayors

General election

Candidates

  • Dick Hester (Independent)
  • Angela Lariscy (Independent)
  • Bob Menendez, incumbent Representative from Union City since 1993 (Democratic)
  • Richard Piatowski (Republican)
  • Herbert Shaw, perennial candidate (Independent)

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [1] Safe DOctober 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [2] Safe DNovember 1, 2004

Results

New Jersey's 13th congressional district election, 2004
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Bob Menendez (incumbent) 121,018 75.85%
Republican Richard Piatkowski35,28822.12%
Independent Dick Hester1,2820.80%
Independent Herbert Shaw1,0660.67%
Independent Angela Lariscy8870.56%
Majority85,73053.74%
Turnout 159,541
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "2004 Competitive House Race Chart" (PDF). House: Race Ratings. Cook Political Report. October 29, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "2004 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2004. Archived from the original on November 11, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  3. "Vasquez wants another crack at Chris Smith". Observer. August 13, 2007. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Whittington, Lauren W.; Cillizza, Chris (June 7, 2004). "Moran's Last Stand". Roll Call. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  5. "A Marine Jumps Party Lines to Join Democrats in Trenches". WSJ.com. April 21, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Goldberg, Michelle (September 30, 2004). "Marine declares war on Bush - Salon.com". Dir.salon.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  7. "Ret. Lt. Colonel Steve Brozak's Speech before the Democratic National Convention". PRNewswire. July 28, 2004. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. Garbarine, Rachelle (September 14, 1997). "In the Region/New Jersey; At Fair Lawn Business Park, the Prospect Is Housing". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved May 21, 2025.