NJ's New Legislative Map: Here's What Is Changing

NEW JERSEY — Republicans and Democrats compromised on a new map setting what New Jersey's legislative districts will look like for the next 10 years, multiple sources report.

The New Jersey Legislative Apportionment Committee, an 11-member commission tasked with drawing the new boundaries, approved the new map by a 9-2 vote in Trenton on Friday, as NJ.com reported.

This commission meets once every 10 years after Census results are released. This is the first time the committee has come to a bipartisan agreement, according to NorthJersey.com.

The approved map is different than the two proposed maps released earlier this month.

Some changes will take place across all 40 districts, with some boundaries causing bigger legislative shifts than others.

See the new map for 2022-2030 here, and the outgoing map for 2011-2021 here.

What is changing

In North Jersey, incumbent Democrats in the 27th and 33rd districts would have to compete with one another to hold a seat in the redrawn portions, which includes Essex and Hudson counties.

Republican representatives in the 25th and 26th districts, also in North Jersey, will flip districts after the lines are re-drawn; the same will happen with Essex County Democrats in the 27th and 28th districts.

Republicans also pick up some ground in the 2nd, 4th, and 8th districts of South Jersey.

What both sides said

The New Jersey Republican Party applauded the changes, adding that the GOP has "the best shot at taking back the majority in Trenton than at any other point in the last two plus decades" in an email.

The map does favor the Democratic Party, but gives Republicans enough of a footing to push for control of the legislature. As it stands, Democrats control both the Senate and General Assembly, as well as the Governor's office.

NJ GOP Chair Bob Hugin said the map "solidifies and strengthens" existing Republican representatives while opening opportunities for the party to pick up seats.

"It will take great candidates, strong campaigns and a lot of hard work, but let me be crystal clear: this map puts a Republican majority in the State Legislature within reach and that is what the NJGOP will be fighting tooth and nail for," Hugin said in a news release. "The district boundaries under this map, coupled with the current political climate, the NJGOP’s strong momentum, and the myriad failures of Joe Biden and Phil Murphy, means then no Democrat is safe in New Jersey in 2022, 2023 and beyond."

LeRoy Jones Jr., who was on the commission's Democratic delegation, told NJ 101.5 the map was the "best possible outcome" for Democrats given some difficult choices.

Fair Districts New Jersey said the map "overrepresents white people and actively diminishes the voices of communities of color in our electoral process" in a statement.

The group said some communities of interest are together in the approved map, but others are still split. Fair Districts New Jersey pointed out the map does not have many Black- and Latino-majority districts and no Asian-majority districts, despite the fact New Jersey has a large non-white population.