Jon M. Bramnick is an American Republican Party politician and comedian,who has served in the New Jersey Senate since 2022,representing the 21st legislative district. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly,representing the 21st Legislative District from 2003 to 2022,where he was the Assembly Republican Leader from January 2012 to January 2022. He was appointed to the Assembly in 2003 to fill the unexpired term of the vacancy created upon the selection of Thomas Kean Jr. to fill an unexpired New Jersey Senate term. He was elected to a full two-year term later that year and was re-elected in 2005,2007,2009,2011,2013,2015,2017,and 2019. He was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 2021 and was re-elected in 2023. In January 2024,Bramnick announced he was running for Governor of New Jersey in 2025.
Barbara A. Buono is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014,where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate,succeeding Stephen Sweeney,and was succeeded by Loretta Weinberg. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in the 2013 general election,which she lost to Republican incumbent Chris Christie.
Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. is an American Republican Party politician and businessman from New Jersey. Kyrillos served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1992 to 2018,where he represented the 13th Legislative District,and in the General Assembly from 1988 to 1992.
Nicholas Paul Scutari is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 115th president of the New Jersey Senate since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party,he has held a Senate seat since 2004,representing the 22nd legislative district. Scutari has served as Acting Governor of New Jersey on multiple occasions,the first time being in June 2022.
Kevin J. O'Toole is an American Republican Party politician,who served in the New Jersey Senate. O'Toole represented the 40th legislative district,which included parts of Bergen,Essex,Morris,and Passaic counties from 2008 to 2017.
Walter Reed Gusciora is an American Democratic Party politician who has served as the 48th mayor of Trenton,New Jersey since 2018. He previously served from 1996 to 2018 in the New Jersey General Assembly,where he represented the 15th Legislative District.
Michael Patrick Carroll is an American Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He represented the 25th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 to 2020. Carroll did not run for re-election in 2019;instead,he mounted an unsuccessful bid for Morris County Surrogate.
New Jersey is one of the fifty U.S. states. The state is considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has supported the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992. Democrats have also controlled both chambers of the state legislature since 2004. New Jersey currently has two Democratic United States senators. New Jersey's Class I Senate seat has been Democratic since 1959. New Jersey's Class II Senate seat has been Democratic since 1979. In addition,New Jersey's House congressional delegation has had a Democratic majority since 1965,except for a period between 1995-1999 and 2013-2017. As of July 1,2020,there were more registered Democrats than unaffiliated voters for the first time in history,as there are more Democrats than Republicans as well.
Christopher James Christie is an American politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party,he was the United States Attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008 and a Morris County commissioner from 1995 to 1997. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and 2024.
David P. Rible is an American Republican Party politician,who has served as Director of the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control since July 2017. He had previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 30th Legislative District from January 10,2012 until July 17,2017,when he was appointed as Director of the ABC. Prior to redistricting,he represented the 11th Legislative District in the Assembly from January 8,2008 to 2012.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender,and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of New Jersey have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBT individuals in New Jersey enjoy strong protections from discrimination,and have had the same marriage rights as heterosexual people since October 21,2013.
Kimberly Ann Guadagno is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Chris Christie,the 55th Governor of New Jersey,began on June 30,2015,at an event in his hometown of Livingston,New Jersey. Following a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary,the campaign was suspended on February 10,2016. He endorsed Donald Trump on February 26,2016.
Cannabis in New Jersey is legal for both medical use and recreational use. An amendment to the state constitution legalizing cannabis became effective on January 1,2021,and enabling legislation and related bills were signed into law by governor Phil Murphy on February 22,2021.
Vin Gopal is an American Democratic politician who took office on January 9,2018,to represent the 11th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate,which covers portions of Monmouth County. Gopal serves as Chairman of the influential Senate Education Committee and as Senate Majority Conference Leader.
The 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2,2021,to elect the governor of New Jersey. Incumbent governor Phil Murphy was first elected in 2017 with 56% of the vote and won re-election to a second term. Murphy and his running mate,Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver,defeated the Republican ticket of Jack Ciattarelli and Diane Allen,51.2% to 48%.
The 218th New Jersey Legislature began on January 9,2018 following the 2017 Elections. The session started in the end of Chris Christie's governorship and continued in the first two years of Phil Murphy's governorship.
The 217th New Jersey Legislature began on January 12,2016 and ended on January 9,2018,in the last two years of the Governorship of Chris Christie.
Gerard P. Scharfenberger is an American politician,adjunct professor and Republican Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 13th Legislative District since 2020,replacing Amy Handlin. Scharfenberger had previously served on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and as Mayor of Middletown Township.
The 2024 presidential campaign of Chris Christie,the former governor of New Jersey,was formally launched on June 6,2023,at an event in Manchester,New Hampshire. He was seeking the Republican Party nomination in its 2024 presidential primaries. He withdrew from the race on January 10,2024.
