New Jersey Democrats gained ground Tuesday, ousting one Republican congressman and leading a second in a district forecasters had rated Republican and returning U.S. Sen. Cory Booker to Washington by a wide margin.
If the 2nd District result holds, the state's House delegation will move from nine Democrats and three Republicans to 11 Democrats and one Republican (opens in new tab), the party's largest share of the seats since 2019. Rep. Chris Smith of the 4th District, who won with 59% of the vote, would be the only Republican left.
In the 7th District, Democrat Rebecca Bennett defeated Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (opens in new tab), 57% to 41%, with about 94% of the vote counted. The Associated Press called the race at 9:48 p.m. Bennett, a former Navy helicopter and test pilot and health care executive, had never run for office. Bennett raised $8.2 million to Kean's $5.8 million (opens in new tab), The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, and the paper said President Donald Trump's falling approval rating appeared to hurt Kean, who also took a nearly four-month medical leave for depression.
In the 2nd District, Democrat Zack Mullock led Rep. Jeff Van Drew by 6,417 votes, 50.7% to 48.3%, with about 95% counted. AP had not called the race as of 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, but Van Drew conceded Tuesday night (opens in new tab), saying of Mullock, "He is and will be our new congressman for the next two years." The result is a sharp turn from late October, when NJ PBS reported (opens in new tab) that Cook Political Report still rated the seat solid Republican and Mullock had raised about $855,000 to Van Drew's $2.3 million.
At the top of the ticket, Booker won a third full term (opens in new tab), defeating Republican Justin Murphy 62% to 35%, with about 94% counted. AP called that race at 8 p.m.
Booker's margin of about 27 points compares with Kamala Harris' 5.9-point win in New Jersey in 2024, and all 21 counties moved toward Democrats, according to an NJ PBS comparison of AP data. Hudson and Passaic counties shifted the most, about 31 points each. Ocean County, which Trump carried by 36 points, favored Murphy by about 9. Booker also led in seven counties Trump won: Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris and Passaic. The comparison sets an incumbent's Senate race against a presidential race, and counting continues.
Results are unofficial and current as of 10:45 a.m. Wednesday. See every New Jersey race on the NJ Decides results page (opens in new tab).