New Jersey State Senate District 31
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| Census Topic | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 260,634 |
| Gender |
49% Male 51% Female |
| Race |
31.2% White 22.4% Black 21.7% Asian 0.6% Native American 0.1% Pacific Islander |
| Ethnicity | 25.3% Hispanic |
| Median household income | $74,195 |
| High school graduation rate | 88.9% |
| College graduation rate | 45.7% |
New Jersey State Senate District 31 is represented by Sandra Cunningham (D).
As of the 2020 Census, New Jersey state senators represented an average of 232,224 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 219,797 residents.
About the office[edit]
Members of the New Jersey State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Known as the "2-4-4" cycle, Senators serve four-year terms, except in the first term of a new decade, which only lasts for two years. New Jersey legislators assume office at noon of the second Tuesday in January following the election.
Qualifications[edit]
In order to be a candidate to run for the New Jersey State Senate, a candidate must:[1]
- Be a citizen of the United States
- Be 30 years of age or older.
- Reside in the state for a minimum of four years prior to the general election.
- Reside in the legislative district for two years prior to the general election.
Salaries[edit]
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislators | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $49,000/year | No per diem is paid. |
Vacancies[edit]
If there is a vacancy in the New Jersey State Legislature, the vacancy will be filled by an interim appointment by the county leadership of the political party that holds the seat. The office will be on the ballot in the next general election, unless the vacancy occurs within 51 days of the election. If that is the case, the appointment would stand until the following general election.[2][3]
See sources: New Jersey Const., Art. IV, Sec. IV(1)
District map[edit]
The map below shows this district's current boundaries, not those enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle.
Redistricting[edit]
2020-2022[edit]
On February 18, 2022, the New Jersey Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted to approve a new set of state legislative maps.[4] The commission voted 9-2 to approve the maps. Thomas Kean Jr. (R) and Cosmo A. Cirillo (D) were the two dissenting votes.[5] The New Jersey Monitor's Nikita Biryukov wrote that the vote was "an unprecedented compromise for a commission that has historically relied on a court-appointed tiebreaker to end partisan gridlock."[4] These maps take effect for New Jersey's 2023 legislative elections.
How does redistricting in New Jersey work? In New Jersey, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by two distinct politician commissions. The congressional redistricting commission comprises the following 13 members:[6]
- The majority and minority leaders of each chamber of the New Jersey State Legislature appoint two commissioners a piece (for a total of eight members).
- The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint two members to the commission (for a total of four members). Commissioners appointed by the political parties cannot be members of Congress or congressional employees.
- The first 12 commissioners appoint the last member. This member cannot have held public office in the state within the previous five-year period. If the first 12 commissioners cannot agree on an appointment, they must submit two names to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The court must then appoint the final commissioner.
If the congressional redistricting commission fails to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, it must submit two plans to the state Supreme Court, which must in turn select from those two plans a final map.[6]
The state legislative redistricting commission comprises 10 members. The chairs of the state's two major political parties each appoint five members to the commission. In the event that this commission is unable to reach an agreement about a redistricting plan, the state Supreme Court may appoint a tie-breaking member.[6]
State law requires that state legislative districts meet the following criteria:[6]
- Districts must be contiguous.
- Districts "must be as nearly compact as possible."
- Municipalities "must be kept intact, except where otherwise required by law."
There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.[6]
New Jersey State Senate District 31
before 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
New Jersey State Senate District 31
after 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections[edit]
2021[edit]
See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2021
General election for New Jersey State Senate District 31
Incumbent Sandra Cunningham defeated Neil Schulman in the general election for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Sandra Cunningham (D) |
75.3
|
26,699 |
|
|
Neil Schulman (R) |
24.7
|
8,769 | |
|
Total votes: 35,468 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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||||
Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31
Incumbent Sandra Cunningham advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Sandra Cunningham |
100.0
|
7,239 |
|
Total votes: 7,239 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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||||
Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31
Neil Schulman advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey State Senate District 31 on June 8, 2021.
Candidate |
% |
Votes |
||
| ✔ |
|
Neil Schulman |
100.0
|
979 |
|
Total votes: 979 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
||||
2017[edit]
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2017
General election[edit]
Elections for the New Jersey State Senate took place in 2017. All 40 seats were up for election. The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for the primary election was April 3, 2017.[7][8] Incumbent Sandra Cunningham (D) defeated Herminio Mendoza (R) in the New Jersey State Senate District 31 general election.[9][10]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Sandra Cunningham Incumbent |
83.92% | 25,437 | |
| Republican | Herminio Mendoza | 16.08% | 4,874 | |
| Total Votes | 30,311 | |||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||||
Democratic primary election[edit]
Incumbent Sandra Cunningham ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 31 Democratic primary election.[11]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Sandra Cunningham Incumbent | ||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
Republican primary election[edit]
Herminio Mendoza ran unopposed in the New Jersey State Senate District 31 Republican primary election.[11]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 31 Republican Primary, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Herminio Mendoza | ||
| Source: New Jersey Department of State | ||
2013[edit]
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2013
Elections for the office of New Jersey State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 4, 2013, and a general election on November 5, 2013. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 1, 2013. Incumbent Sandra Cunningham (D) defeated Maria Karczewski (R) in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the June 4 primary elections. [12][13][14]
| New Jersey State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sandra Cunningham Incumbent |
73.1% | 18,822 | |
| Republican | Maria Karczewski | 26.9% | 6,932 | |
| Total Votes | 25,754 | |||
2011[edit]
- See also: New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011
Elections for the office of New Jersey State Senate consisted of a primary election on June 7, 2011, and a general election on November 8, 2011. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 11, 2011. Incumbent Sandra Cunningham (D) defeated Donnamarie James (R) and Louis Vernotico (I) in the general election. Cunningham defeated Bruce Alston in the Democratic primary to advance to the general election. Both James and Vernotico were unopposed in the June 7 primary elections.[15][16][17]
| New Jersey State Senate District 31 General Election, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sandra Cunningham Incumbent |
80.8% | 13,275 | |
| Republican | Donnamarie James | 17.3% | 2,836 | |
| Independent | Louis Vernotico | 1.9% | 320 | |
| Total Votes | 16,431 | |||
| New Jersey State Senate District 31 Democratic Primary, 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Sandra Cunningham Incumbent |
85.1% | 7,489 |
| Bruce Alston | 14.9% | 1,312 |
| Total Votes | 8,801 | |
Campaign contributions[edit]
From 2001 to 2017, candidates for New Jersey State Senate District 31 raised a total of $2,211,991. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $130,117 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, New Jersey State Senate District 31 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2017 | $151,843 | 1 | $151,843 |
| 2011 | $222,129 | 4 | $55,532 |
| 2007 | $705,461 | 3 | $235,154 |
| 2003 | $1,024,767 | 5 | $204,953 |
| 2001 | $107,791 | 4 | $26,948 |
| Total | $2,211,991 | 17 | $130,117 |
See also[edit]
- New Jersey State Legislature
- New Jersey State Senate
- New Jersey General Assembly
- New Jersey state legislative districts
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ State of New Jersey, "About NJ Government," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "Our Legislature," accessed February 10, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey Constitution," accessed February 10, 2021 (Article IV, Section 4, (1))
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Jersey Monitor, "Democrats, GOP agree on new legislative map for N.J.," February 18, 2022
- ↑ Insider NJ, "Redistricting Commission Finalizes Legislative Map by 9-2 Vote," February 18, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 All About Redistricting, "New Jersey," accessed May 6, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Secretary of State, "2017 Primary Election Timeline," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Official List, Candidate for State Senate for Primary Election, June 6, 2017," accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Candidates for State Senate for General Election 11/07/2017 Election," accessed September 14, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2017 official general election results," accessed November 30, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New Jersey Department of State, "Official Primary Results: State Senate," accessed July 14, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Official Primary Election Results," accessed July 26, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "Unofficial general election candidates," accessed August 5, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "2013 Official General Election results," accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official General Election Results,” accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official Primary Election Results,” accessed December 5, 2013
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, “2011 Official State Senate Primary Candidate List,” accessed December 5, 2013
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