What district are you in now? A guide to new NJ congressional map
TRENTON – Last week, a new map for New Jersey’s congressional districts was adopted without anybody from the general public seeing it ahead of time.
A statewide map was posted online a short time later, and its details followed a day later. So, it’s finally possible for voters to know their districts for the 2022 through 2030 elections.
Those details are below for each district in the state – what’s been added, what’s been subtracted, and which municipalities are in each district for the next decade.
But first, a political overview of the map, which was drawn by the Democrats on the Redistricting Commission and selected by the tiebreaking member. President Joe Biden would have won in 10 of the 12 newly configured districts.
The most strongly Republican district on the map is the new 4th District, covering parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties, which then-President Donald Trump won by 24 points. Trump also won in the new 2nd District, by slightly more than he won the district as it exists currently.
There is only one other district on the new map that Biden won by less than 10 points: the 7th District, where his advantage was narrowed to 4 points from 10 points. The 2022 House race appears to now favor Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr., who lost by around 1 point to Rep. Tom Malinowski under the old boundaries.
Malinowski implied on Twitter that he was considering not seeking re-election, saying that “the redistricting gods haven’t made it easy for us” and that “we will make our judgements with the people who got me here in mind and in the loop.” But he followed that up on Monday with a campaign fundraising email that discussed the impact of the new map.
Another way to look at the changes is through this year’s gubernatorial race.
University of Virginia political scientist J. Miles Coleman says the 3rd District went from one won by Republican Jack Ciattarelli by 14 points to one won by Gov. Phil Murphy by 2 points. The 11th District shifted 13 points toward Murphy, and the 5th District moved 8 points toward Murphy.
The 7th District went the other way, with Ciattarelli’s win there growing from 6 points to 12 points.
New Jersey's new congressional districts for the 2020s
Michael Symons is State House bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. Contact him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com.