Every decade, the U.S. government conducts a national census to identify changes in population to guide the distribution of funds and other aid to states. The new census is then used by states to guide them with their legislative redistricting and congressional reapportionment process, where both political parties redraw the lines of the new Legislative Districts (LDs) and Congressional Districts (CDs) in their states. On December 31, 2020, the new decade’s census results were finalized and became the resource for New Jersey’s new maps for LDs and CDs.
The “new” 12 CDs were in effect for the November 8, 2022, elections for Congress. As you can see from the list below, with the exception of CD 7 flipping from Democrat to Republican, the CD political composition did not change and most incumbents regained their seats:
* CD 1 Donald Norcross (D)
* CD 2 Jeff Van Drew (R)
* CD 3 Andy Kim (D)
* CD 4 Chris Smith (R)
* CD 5 Josh Gottehimer (D)
* CD 6 Frank Pallone (D)
CD 7 Thomas Kean (R)
+ CD 8 Robert Menendez, Jr. (D)
* CD 9 Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D)
* CD 10 Donald M. Payne (D)
* CD 11 Mikie Sherrill (D)
* CD 12 Bonnie Watson Coleman (D)
*prior incumbent
+succeeded prior Democrat
The “new” LD map was not in effect for the 2022 elections for the state’s 80 Assembly and 40 Senate seats. That election was based on the “old” map which is what the incumbents are using to represent their constituents today.
The November 2023 elections will be based on the new configuration of the state’s 40 LDs. This brief update summarizes the major changes between LDs and how those changes will impact franchised automotive retailers in New Jersey.
The LD map, adopted on February 18, 2022, shows that out of the 40 LDs in New Jersey, 35 will change their borders under the new map. As a result, out of the 500 dealerships in the state, approximately 20% (or 100 dealerships) will change districts.
For instance, under the new map, there is a wave of change in Warren County, which constituted most of District 23. Under the new map, District 23 expanded into adjoining LDs eastward, southward and northward. LD 24 (Sussex County) has expanded under the new map and combines with a growing LD 25 to virtually slice LD 26 further eastward.
As you can tell, this can be hard to follow, and the practical implications may not be fully clear yet as to legislative representation. The Primary Elections in June 2023, and the subsequent General Election in November, will provide us with the hard results of the changes in LDs. Nonetheless, the district expansions and contractions are important now. From a practical perspective, some legislative candidates may reach out to dealerships that are not in their current districts but will be in their new districts. The incumbents will need to campaign under the new map and continue representing their constituents under the old map. This means that some dealerships may be visited by multiple legislators soliciting their votes.
The following maps show the changes between the old and new Legislative districts with a key to show who is the current representative for that district.
To see the new 2022–2030 legislative districts map in more detail, go to https://www.apportionmentcommission.org/adoption2022map.asp.
