New Jersey's 5th congressional district
New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Democrat Josh Gottheimer, who has served in Congress since 2017. The district contains most of Bergen County, as well as parts of Passaic County, Sussex County, and Warren County.
| New Jersey's 5th congressional district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries, with Bergen County highlighted in red | |||
| Representative |
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| Distribution |
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| Population (2019) | 734,764 | ||
| Median household income | $110,329[1] | ||
| Ethnicity |
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| Cook PVI | R+1[2] | ||
On December 22nd, 2021, the New Jersey Redistricting Commission adopted a new congressional map that will take effect in January 2023 for the following decade. In this map, the 5th district will remain fairly similar to its current configuration, though it will lose all of its towns in Warren County, contain less of Sussex County, and include more of eastern Bergen County, making it somewhat more Democratic. Notably, new towns in the redrawn 5th district will include Fort Lee, Englewood, and Tenafly.[3]
History
Since redistricting in the early 1990s, this congressional district has been L-shaped, comprising the rural northern and western parts of New Jersey along with parts of Passaic and Bergen County. After redistricting in 2011, the 5th district, while still predominantly rural in geographic area, gained suburban and urban Bergen County areas closer to New York City, which contain over 75% of voters. Currently, the district encompasses suburban northern Bergen County, as well as the central urban portion of the county, such as Hackensack.
Historically, most of the areas in the district have generally been favorable for Republicans. This is especially true of the western portion, which contains some of the most Republican areas in the Northeast. However, Bergen County has trended Democratic in recent elections, though not as overwhelmingly as in the more urbanized southern portion of Bergen County, this latter portion being in the Ninth Congressional District. Partly due to a strong performance in Bergen County, Josh Gottheimer unseated 14-year Republican incumbent Scott Garrett in 2016. This made Garrett the only one of the state's 12 incumbents to lose reelection that year.[4]
Counties and municipalities in the district
For the 113th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2010 United States Census), the district contains all or portions of four counties and 79 municipalities.[5][6]
- Bergen County (43)
- Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Closter, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson, Fair Lawn, Franklin Lakes, Glen Rock, Hackensack, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Lodi, Mahwah, Maywood, Midland Park, Montvale, New Milford, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Oradell, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ridgewood, River Edge, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Rockleigh, Saddle River, Teaneck (part, also 9th), Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington Township, Westwood, Woodcliff Lake and Wyckoff
- Passaic County (2)
- Ringwood and West Milford
- Sussex County (19)
- Andover Borough, Andover Township, Branchville, Frankford Township, Franklin Borough, Fredon Township, Green Township, Hamburg, Hampton Township, Hardyston Township, Lafayette Township, Montague Township, Newton, Ogdensburg, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township, Sussex, Vernon Township, Walpack Township and Wantage Township
Voting
| Election results from presidential races | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Results |
| 2000 | President | Bush 52 - 45%* |
| 2004 | President | Bush 57 - 43%* |
| 2008 | President | McCain 54 - 45%* |
| 2012 | President | Romney 51 - 48% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 49 - 48% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 51 - 46% |
List of members representing the district
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Recent election results
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Scott Garrett (incumbent) | 167,501 | 55.0 | |
| Democratic | Adam Gussen | 130,100 | 42.8 | |
| Green | Patricia Alessandrini | 6,770 | 2.2 | |
| Total votes | 304,371 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Scott Garrett (incumbent) | 104,678 | 55.4 | |
| Democratic | Roy Cho | 81,808 | 43.3 | |
| Independent | Mark D Quick | 2,435 | 1.3 | |
| Total votes | 188,921 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2016
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer | 172,587 | 51.1 | |
| Republican | Scott Garrett (incumbent) | 157,690 | 46.7 | |
| Libertarian | Claudio Belusic | 7,424 | 2.2 | |
| Total votes | 337,701 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
2018
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 169,546 | 56.2 | |
| Republican | John J. McCann | 128,255 | 42.5 | |
| Libertarian | James Tosone | 2,115 | 0.7 | |
| Independent | Wendy Goetz | 1,907 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 301,823 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2020
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Gottheimer (incumbent) | 225,175 | 53.2 | |
| Republican | Frank Pallotta | 193,333 | 45.6 | |
| Independent | Louis Vellucci | 5,128 | 1.2 | |
| Total votes | 423,636 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- "My Congressional District".
- "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- "New Jersey Congressional Districts: 2022-2031" (PDF). New Jersey Redistricting Commission. December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- Neuman, William. "Josh Gottheimer Defeats Scott Garrett in New Jersey Congressional Race", The New York Times, November 9, 2016. Accessed November 19, 2016.
- Towns in the 5th, Scott Garrett. Accessed February 4, 2014.
- Plan Components Report, New Jersey Redistricting Commission, December 23, 2011. Accessed November 6, 2016.
- "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 6, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. December 2, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- Johnson, Cheryl L. (February 28, 2019). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 6, 2018". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- "Official General Election Results: U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Elections. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present