WASHINGTON — New Jersey Democrats were downright giddy the day after their party gained significant majorities in both chambers of Congress.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th), the likely next chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, called the results an “historic win and opportunity.”
Fresh off his reelection to the Senate, Cory Booker called the midterms an “historic rebuke” of a sitting president. Both Democrats are national political players worth following.
Democrats are expected to win 250 seats or more in the House and a minimum of 54 seats in the Senate. New Jersey contributed to the House tally, defeating Rep. Tom Kean Jr., and Democrats are on track to oust South Jersey Republican Jeff Van Drew in an upset.
“I made my decisions, and I’m proud of them,” Van Drew said in an impromptu concession speech Tuesday night, even as his race has yet to be called by the Associated Press as of Wednesday evening.
With Van Drew exiting, that will leave Chris Smith, first elected in 1980, the only Republican representing New Jersey on Capitol Hill come January.
Throughout the Capitol complex on Wednesday, custodial and technical staff began work in the morning, cleaning, moving equipment and mapping available office space for the new Congress.
Members who won reelection may jockey for spots on different committees or stay put and climb up the ranks. New Jersey’s newcomers will submit their requests for committee assignments and start near the bottom in seniority.
NJ Spotlight News made some projections to where they all will land in the new Congress.
The (likely) chairman
Rep. Frank Pallone (Democrat) — 6th District
Age and hometown: 75 years old, Long Branch
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Hillary Herzig by 38 percentage points with 95% of the vote counted; reelected to a 19th term.
Prospects in new Congress: Pallone will likely become the Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, a panel with broad jurisdiction. A soft-spoken and longtime legislative hand, Pallone will become the highest-ranking New Jersey Democrat in Congress. He also chaired Energy and Commerce during the Biden administration.
Expected committee: Energy and Commerce
Big issues: Environmental protection, climate change, health insurance, Medicaid, vehicle safety, artificial intelligence, surveillance pricing, wildlife conservation
The presidential hopeful
Sen. Cory Booker (Democrat)
Age and hometown: 57 years old, Newark
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Justin Murphy by close to 30 points at last count; reelected to a third full Senate term.
Prospects in new Congress: How long does Booker wait before he announces a campaign for president? That’s the key question. Booker relishes legislative work on farming, food, health, courts, policing, the judiciary and foreign policy. The former Newark mayor ran for president in 2020 before endorsing Joe Biden.
Expected committees: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Foreign Relations; Judiciary; Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Big issues: Healthcare, criminal justice reform, federal courts, agriculture, housing, public health
The Pentagon watchers
Rep. Donald Norcross (Democrat) — 1st District
Age and hometown: 67 years old, Camden
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican challenger Damon Galdo by 30 percentage points; reelected to a seventh full term.
Prospects in new Congress: A gravelly-voiced union man, Norcross is poised to become the No. 4-ranked Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. Expect heavy scrutiny of Pentagon spending and war activities against Iran and Venezuela in particular. Norcross will also push for pro-labor legislation and for military interests in South Jersey and the Philadelphia shipyard.
Expected committees: Armed Services; Education and Workforce
Big issues: Union organizing, workplace safety, military oversight, mental health, Superfund cleanup, foreign allies
Rep. Herb Conaway (Democrat) — 3rd District
Age and hometown: 63 years old, Delran
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Michael McGuire by 27 percentage points at last count; reelected to a second term.
Prospects in new Congress: An active physician still practicing so as to keep his license, Conaway is an affable lawmaker finding his niche on Capitol Hill. Conaway is a former Air Force officer who led scrutiny of a proposed immigration detention site on a military base in his Burlington County district. Expect him to follow that topic in the next two years.
Expected committees: House Armed Services; Veterans’ Affairs
Big issues: Medicine, public health, national security, federal support for research, military veterans
The Republican survivor
Rep. Chris Smith (Republican) — 4th District
Age and hometown: 73 years old, Manchester
2026 election summary: Defeated Democrat Rachel Peace by 19 percentage points at preliminary count; reelected to a 24th term, one of the longest serving in the House.
Prospects in new Congress: The last Republican standing in the delegation, Smith was first elected in 1981, as Jimmy Carter was exiting the White House. A fervent opponent of abortion and China, Smith is often in alignment with Democrats on foreign policy, labor issues and human rights. The under-the-radar Republican has written dozens of federal laws, including on sexual trafficking and autism. Look for him to stay under the radar in a Democratic-majority House.
Committees: Foreign Affairs
Big issues: Abortion, China, human trafficking, military veterans, Lyme Disease, offshore wind, international affairs, U.S. defense posture, foreign aid
The change agent
Sen. Andy Kim (Democrat)
Age and hometown: 44 years old, Moorestown
2026 election summary: Not up for reelection, current term runs through 2030.
Prospects in new Congress: Kim was the only federal Democrat from the state not up for reelection in 2026. A former military and foreign-policy adviser, Kim did not get seats on any national security committees in his first two years in the Senate. In the new Congress, expect him to take a greater role on U.S. foreign affairs and healthcare. Kim was a plaintiff in a seismic lawsuit that helped end the “county line” election system in New Jersey.
Committees: Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Special Committee on Aging
Big issues: Medical care, health insurance, foreign aid, international diplomacy, public corruption, defense spending, money in politics, trust in government
The ICE melters
Rep. LaMonica McIver (Democrat) — 10th District
Age and hometown: 40 years old, Newark
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Carmen Bucco by 69 percentage points at last count; reelected to a second term.
Prospects in new Congress: A staunch critic of President Donald Trump and his administration, in particular Immigration and Customs Enforcement. McIver and fellow New Jersey Democrats Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman have led the state’s response to the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda. With a seat on the Homeland Security Committee, McIver will lead a charge to investigate ICE activities, programs and spending. McIver faces potential prison time over her May 2025 involvement in a shoving match with federal agents outside Delaney Hall, the ICE detention site in Newark. She maintains the case is political retaliation from the Trump administration.
Committees: Homeland Security; Small Business
Big issues: Immigration detention, migrant deaths, public corruption, housing, health care, public transportation, oversight
Rep. Analilia Mejia (Democrat) — 11th District
Age and hometown: 48 years old, Glen Ridge
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Joe Hathaway by 21 percentage points with more than 90% of the vote counted; elected to her first full term after winning a special election.
Prospects in new Congress: Relatively green on Capitol Hill, Mejia, a former political organizer, has been repulsed by what she’s seen in Washington. “We have a rigged economy and a rigged democracy,” she said. Mejia should be a reliable Democrat chafing for bold changes, ICE oversight and new committee seats in the next Congress.
Committees: Homeland Security; Small Business
Big issues: Immigration, ICE abolition, public corruption, flooding, workers’ rights, healthcare costs, data centers
Rep. Rob Menendez (Democrat) — 8th District
Age and hometown: 41 years old, Jersey City
2026 election summary: Easily won reelection without a Republican challenger; reelected to a third term.
Prospects in new Congress: Menendez is a fierce advocate for immigrant rights just as his father, former senator and congressman Bob Menendez was during his time in Washington. Menendez shows an interest in legislating on health policy and programs from his Energy and Commerce seat, a sought-after assignment. In his third-term, look for Menendez to emerge as one of the administration’s sharpest critics, especially on immigration.
Committees: Energy and Commerce
Big issues: Immigration policies, migrant detention centers, federal health programs, aviation safety, shipping
The newcomers
Zack Mullock (Democrat) — 2nd District
Age and hometown: Age not confirmed, Cape May
2026 election summary: Presumed to have defeated Republican incumbent Jeff Van Drew by less than two points, or about 7,000 voters at last count; Van Drew conceded the race, but it has yet to be called by The AP; elected to his first term.
Prospects in new Congress: Mullock, the mayor of Cape May, stunned New Jersey by defeating incumbent Jeff Van Drew. He will represent a rural and historically conservative South Jersey seat sure to be an immediate target for Republicans in 2028. A seat on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which sets water policy, would be a natural fit for this coastal district that thrives on tourism dollars.
Committees: Not yet assigned
Big issues: Universal healthcare, housing, coastal protection, money in politics, job training, public works projects
Rebecca Bennett (Democrat) — 7th District
Age and hometown: 39 years old, Bridgewater
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. by nearly 16 percentage points at last count; elected to her first term.
Prospects in new Congress: In flipping New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, Rebecca Bennett helped secure Democrats’ House majority next year. A former helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy, Bennett would be a natural fit for Armed Services. Her health policy background complements Energy and Commerce, though seats there are hot commodities. Where she lands, Bennett will start near the bottom rung in seniority.
Committees: Not yet assigned
Big issues: Tariffs, healthcare costs, public corruption, U.S. military, Medicaid cuts, reproductive rights, military families, stock-trading ban
Adam Hamawy (Democrat) — 12th District
Age and hometown: Age not confirmed, Princeton area
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Gregg Mele by 42 percentage points; elected to his first term, succeeding retiring Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Prospects in new Congress: Hamawy emerged from a messy 11-person primary election in June, all but locking up this seat. Like Conaway, Hamawy has a medical background: he is a trained U.S. Army surgeon. Bonnie Watson Coleman, the retiring incumbent, holds a seat on the House Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful committees in Congress. Such seats are rarely given out to freshmen from safe districts. Hamawy will be the first Muslim from New Jersey to serve in Congress.
Committees: Not yet assigned
Big issues: Abolition of ICE, universal healthcare, climate change, civil rights, paths to citizenship, government corruption
The centrist Democrat
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (Democrat) — 5th District
Age and hometown: 50 years old, Wyckoff
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Sean Kirrane by 28 percentage points at preliminary count; reelected to a sixth term.
Prospects in new Congress: Gottheimer was an influential negotiator and voice of moderate Democrats during the Biden administration. He will likely pick up that role again, in particular over U.S. foreign policy toward Israel and the Middle East. Gottheimer is a prodigious fundraiser with the ear of the incoming Speaker, Hakeem Jeffries, and a voice to follow on artificial intelligence regulation.
Committees: Financial Services; Intelligence
Big issues: Foreign relations, Israel, banking, financial markets, tariffs, trade policy, artificial intelligence
The comeback queen
Rep. Nellie Pou (Democrat) — 9th District
Age and hometown: 70 years old, North Haledon
2026 election summary: Defeated Republican Rosemary Pino by 33 percentage points with 94% of the vote counted; reelected to a second term.
Prospects in new Congress: Pou was one of the few House Democrats that Republicans targeted in these midterms, after Trump carried her district in 2024. Pou cruised to re-election this November, winning by more than 30%. She is an understated member who has scored subtle wins for her district, such as funding for Army Corps projects and water studies. Watch for her to continue that steady-as-she goes legislative approach.
Committees: Homeland Security; Transportation and Infrastructure.
Big issues: Transportation, Gateway tunnel project, ICE, immigration, flood mitigation, oversight of the Trump administration