2019 New Jersey elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of New Jersey on November 5, 2019. Primary elections were held on June 4. The only state positions that were up in this election cycle were all 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly and one Senate special election in the 1st Legislative District. In addition to the State Legislative elections, numerous county offices and freeholders in addition to municipal offices were up for election. There was one statewide question on the ballot in 2019, and some counties and municipalities may have had a local question asked. Non-partisan local elections, some school board elections, and some fire district elections also happened in 2019.

State legislature

State Senate special elections

One special election was held in the 1st Legislative District to complete the unexpired term of Jeff Van Drew. Van Drew resigned on January 2, 2019, following his election to Congress. On January 7, Democratic committee members in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties selected Assemblyman Bob Andrzejczak as the appointed replacement, and he was sworn in on January 15. ^{[1] [2]} Andrzejczak was later defeated in the special election in November by Republican Mike Testa. ^[3]

An additional vacancy in the State Senate was created by the September 2019 death of Anthony Bucco. The deadline for a 2019 special election having passed, ^[4] a special election will be held in 2020 pending which his son Tony Bucco was appointed by a party convention to hold the seat on an interim basis.

Democratic primary

Declared

• Bob Andrzejczak, appointed incumbent senator

1st Legislative District Democratic Primary ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Andrzejczak	4,925	100
Total votes			4,925	100

Republican primary

Declared

• Mike Testa, Chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Party ^[6]

Withdrew

• Sam Fiocchi, former state assemblyman and candidate for NJ-2 in 2018 ^{[7] [8]}

1st Legislative District Republican primary ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Testa	5,687	100
Total votes			5,687	100

General election

Results

1st Legislative District general election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Testa	27,163	53.5	19.5
	Democratic	Bob Andrzejczak	23,636	46.5	18.3
Total votes			50,799	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic

General Assembly

See also: 2019 New Jersey General Assembly election

2019 New Jersey General Assembly election

←  2017 November 5, 2019 2021  →
All 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly 41 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Craig Coughlin Jon Bramnick Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 9, 2018 January 17, 2012 Leader's seat 19th 21st Last election 54 26 Seats won 52 28 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 474,160 304,101 Percentage 60.93% 39.07% Swing 2.85pp 2.28pp
Results:      Democratic hold      Republican hold     Republican gain
Speaker before election Craig Coughlin Democratic Elected Speaker Craig Coughlin Democratic

The 2019 Elections for New Jersey's General Assembly was held on November 5, 2019. All 80 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The candidates that won in November will be part of the 219th New Jersey Legislature.

All 80 seats of the New Jersey General Assembly were up for election. Democrats held a 54–26 supermajority in the lower house prior to the election. The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen from 40 electoral districts. Each district elects one state senator and two State Assembly members. New Jersey uses coterminous legislative districts for both its State Senate and General Assembly.

Going into the 2019 election, every legislative district was represented by two Assembly members of the same party. This was maintained afterward, as Republicans flipped both seats in the 1st district.

Summary of Results

Parties		Candidates	Seats				Popular Vote
			2017	2019	+/-	Strength	Vote	%	Change
	Democratic	80	54	52	2	62.50%	1,644,511	55.3%	2.8pp
	Republican	76	26	28	2	37.50%	1,312,532	44.1%	2.7pp
	Legalize Marijuana	2	0	0		0%	4,130	0.1%	N/A
	Libertarian	1	0	0		0%	568	0.02%	0.05pp
	Independent	13	0	0		0%	13,189	0.4%	0.1pp
Total		172	80	80	0	100.0%	2,974,930	100.0%	-

Ballot measures

One statewide question was on the ballot which was approved by voters:

• Public Question Number 1, Extends veterans' property tax deduction to continuing care retirement communities providing housing to veterans.

^[10]

References

1. Contento, Nina (January 2, 2019). "Former State Senator Jeff Van Drew Prepares for Washington, D.C." SNJ Today. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
2. Franklin, Chris (January 7, 2019). "It's a game of musical chairs in 1st Legislative district after Van Drew heads to Washington". NJ.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
3. "Official General Election Results: State Senate" (PDF). Department of State New Jersey Division of Elections. December 2, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
4. "With Bucco's Senate seat vacant, what happens now?". September 17, 2019.
5. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
6. Hurley, Harry; Coleman, Chris (November 20, 2018). "MICHAEL TESTA TO RUN FOR NJ STATE SENATE IN DISTRICT 1". WPGG . Retrieved May 12, 2019.
7. Brunetti Post, Michelle; Barlow, Bill (January 17, 2019). "Milam to replace Andrzejczak in Assembly; Fiocchi running for Senate". The Press of Atlantic City . Retrieved May 12, 2019.
8. Wildstein, David (March 13, 2019). "Testa wins Cape May; Fiocchi drops out". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
9. "Official List, Candidates for State Senate For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
10. "New Jersey 2019 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 1, 2023.