New Jersey

New Jersey is the fifth smallest but most densely populated state of the United States of America; the U.S. postal abbreviation is NJ. The state is named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel.

Law and government

The state capital of New Jersey is Trenton. Richard Codey (Democrat) is the acting governor, because he is (and concurrently serves as) President of the State Senate. Former Governor James E. McGreevey resigned on November 15, 2004, and New Jersey (like Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming) has no position of Lieutenant Governor. It is expected that Codey will serve as acting governor until January 2006. The New Jersey governor is considered one of the most powerful governorships in the nation, as it is the only state-wide elected office in the state and appoints many government officials. Additionally, an acting governor is even more powerful as he simultaneously serves as president of the senate, thus directing the entire legislative and executive process. The state's two U.S. Senators are Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat) and Jon Corzine (Democrat). New Jersey has 13 Congressional Districts.

Related Topics:
Trenton - Richard Codey - James E. McGreevey - November 15 - 2004 - Arizona - Maine - New Hampshire - Oregon - West Virginia - Wyoming - Lieutenant Governor - January 2006 - U.S. Senators - Frank R. Lautenberg - Jon Corzine - 13 Congressional Districts

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New Jersey is a politically competitive state; the Governorship has alternated between the parties since the election of Richard J. Hughes in 1961; the legislature has also switched hands, and one house was evenly divided in 1999–2001. Three of the last four gubernatorial elections have been close. The Congressional seats have also been as evenly divided as thirteen seats can be.

Related Topics:
Richard J. Hughes - 1961

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In national elections, the state now tends to lean towards the national Democratic Party. It was, however, a Republican stronghold for years in the past, having given comfortable margins of victory to the Republican candidate in the close elections of 1948, 1968, and 1976. New Jersey was a crucial swing state in the elections of 1960, 1968, and 1992. In national elections, the state gave large victories to Democrats in the 1990's, while in the 2004 presidential election, Kerry defeated Bush by about 6%. The last elected Republican to hold a Senate seat from New Jersey was Clifford P. Case in 1979. (Nicholas Brady was appointed a U.S. Senator by Governor Thomas Kean in 1982 after Harrison A. Williams resigned the Senate seat following the Abscam investigations. Brady served eight months.)

Related Topics:
Democratic Party - Republican - 1948 - 1968 - 1976 - Swing state - 1960 - 1992 - Clifford P. Case - 1979 - Nicholas Brady - Thomas Kean - 1982 - Harrison A. Williams - Abscam

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The state's Democratic strongholds include Mercer County around the cities of Trenton and Princeton; Essex County and Hudson County, the state's two most urban counties, around the state's two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City; as well as in Camden County and most of the other urban communities just outside of Philadelphia and New York City. More suburban northern counties in the orbit of New York, such as Union and Middlesex, also trend Democratic.

Related Topics:
Mercer County - Trenton - Princeton - Essex County - Hudson County - Newark - Jersey City - Camden County - Philadelphia - New York City

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The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have strong backing along the coast in Ocean County and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially Sussex County, Morris County and Warren County. Somerset and Hunterdon counties, more suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections, but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, Bush received about 51% in Somerset and 56% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County Bush won with 64% of the vote.

Related Topics:
Ocean County - Sussex County - Morris County - Warren County - Somerset - Hunterdon

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About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example, Bergen County, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with Passaic County, with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other "swing" counties like Cape May tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas.

Related Topics:
Bergen County - Passaic County - Cape May

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New Jersey State Constitution

The constitution was adopted in 1947. It provides for a bicameral Legislature consisting of a Senate of 40 members and an Assembly of 80 members. Each of the 40 legislative districts elects one Senator and two Assembly members. Assembly members are elected by the people for a two year term in all odd-numbered years; Senators are elected in the years ending in 1, 3, and 7 and thus serve either four or two year terms.

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The New Jersey Supreme Court http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/supreme/index.htm consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. All are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of the membership of the state senate. Justices serve an initial seven-year term, after which they can be reappointed to serve until age 70.

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