New Jersey held its general election on November 5, 2019, deciding 81 legislative seats across 41 districts, including 1 special election. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Bucking a night of Democratic wins in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, Republicans made gains in both houses and pushed the Democratic Assembly majority below two-thirds.
- All 3 Republican gains came in the 1st District, where Democrat Jeff Van Drew had left his Senate seat after winning election to Congress. In a special election for the rest of Van Drew's term, Mike Testa (R) defeated incumbent Sen. Bob Andrzejczak (D) by about 7 points. Testa's running mates, Erik Simonsen (R) and Antwan McClellan (R), unseated Assembly members Bruce Land (D) and Matthew Milam (D), the only Assembly incumbents to lose. It was the first GOP sweep of the district since 1997, and a Monmouth University analysis said Democrats' attack ads there seemed to backfire.
- Republicans sought to make the election a referendum on Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who was not on the ballot. Monmouth concluded that Republicans won by keeping their races local, and that Murphy was "a factor, but not the major one."
- Elsewhere, 4 incumbent tickets held on, with the second-place winner finishing about 2,000 votes or fewer ahead of the top loser:
- Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R), who survived a tight race, and Nancy Muñoz (R) held Assembly District 21, with Muñoz about 2,000 votes ahead of Lisa Mandelblatt (D).
- Ryan Peters (R) and Jean Stanfield (R) held Assembly District 8 by about 1,000 votes despite a "MAGA conservative" independent candidacy.
- Vincent Mazzeo (D) and John Armato (D) kept Assembly District 2, with Armato fewer than 1,000 votes ahead of John Risley (R).
- Anthony Bucco (R) and Brian Bergen (R) held Assembly District 25, with Bergen about 1,750 votes ahead of Lisa Bhimani (D).
- Voters approved the only statewide question, Public Question 1, with about three-quarters of the vote. It extends the $250 veterans' property-tax deduction to veterans living in continuing care retirement communities, who pay property taxes through their monthly fees.
Legislature
- Assembly (80 seats): 54 D, 26 R before the election, 52 D, 28 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
- Senate (40 seats): 25 D, 15 R before the election, 24 D, 16 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Public Question 1 | Extends veterans' property tax deduction to continuing care retirement communities providing housing to veterans | Passed (75.96% yes) |