Everyone thought they knew how New Jersey would go. It’s blue, right? Basically a lock for the Democrats since the nineties. But if you actually look at the new jersey election results 2024, the story isn’t just about a "blue wall" holding firm. It’s about cracks. It's about a 6-point margin in a state Joe Biden won by 16 just four years ago.
Honestly, the Garden State had a weird year.
We saw historic lows in turnout, a massive shift in the suburbs, and a Senate race that felt more like a referendum on corruption than a standard partisan brawl. While Kamala Harris took the state's 14 electoral votes, the "vibe shift" was undeniable. Donald Trump didn't win New Jersey, but he made the kind of inroads that keep party consultants awake at night. He snagged over 1.96 million votes—about 46% of the total—while Harris landed roughly 2.22 million (52%).
That 6% gap is the closest a Republican has come to winning New Jersey since the late eighties.
The Senate Race: Andy Kim Makes History
While the top of the ticket was tightening, the U.S. Senate race provided a different kind of drama. Andy Kim officially became the first Korean-American ever elected to the Senate. He didn't just win; he sort of dismantled the old-school New Jersey political machine along the way.
Remember the whole "county line" lawsuit?
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Kim took on the powerful party bosses who controlled how names appeared on the ballot. He won in court, he won the primary, and then he beat Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw in the general election. Bashaw, a moderate who tried to distance himself from the more "MAGA" elements of his party, couldn't quite close the gap. Kim finished with about 53.6% of the vote compared to Bashaw’s 44%.
Kim's victory is huge for South Jersey. He’s the first Senator from that part of the state in nearly 70 years. He stepped into a seat left vacant by Bob Menendez, whose federal bribery conviction basically nuked his career and left a massive trust gap with voters. Kim’s "nice guy" image—remember that photo of him cleaning up the Capitol after January 6th?—seemed to be exactly what voters wanted after the Menendez circus.
Why the Numbers Shifted: The Red Creep in the Suburbs
If you’re looking at the new jersey election results 2024 and wondering why the margin shrunk so much, look at the counties. Passaic County actually flipped red. Yes, Passaic. Trump won there by about 3 points. He also took Atlantic, Gloucester, and Cumberland.
Even in the deep blue strongholds, the numbers were softer.
- Hudson County: Harris won, but by way less than Biden did.
- Bergen County: Usually a reliable Democratic engine, but it stayed surprisingly tight at 50.7% to 47.3%.
- Essex County: Still very blue, but the raw vote totals for Democrats dropped significantly.
People were just... tired. Or maybe just disinterested. New Jersey hit its lowest turnout for a presidential year in modern history, with only about 65% of registered voters actually showing up. That’s a massive drop from the 72% we saw in 2020.
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A lot of folks just stayed home.
The working-class communities in places like Edison, Paterson, and Elizabeth seem to be drifting. It’s not necessarily that they’ve all become hardcore Republicans, but the Democratic message on the economy and "democracy at stake" didn't seem to land the same way it used to.
The House: No Changes, But Lots of Close Calls
Despite all the noise, the actual makeup of New Jersey's congressional delegation didn't budge. We’re still looking at a 9-3 split in favor of Democrats.
The most watched fight was in the 7th District. Thomas Kean Jr., the Republican incumbent, managed to hold off a challenge from Susan Altman. It was a slugfest. Altman ran hard on reproductive rights, but Kean—who carries one of the most famous names in Jersey politics—stuck to a script of affordability and border security. He won by about 5 points.
Over in the 3rd District, which Andy Kim left to run for Senate, Democrat Herb Conaway kept the seat blue. He beat Republican Rajesh Mohan with roughly 53% of the vote. It was a comfortable win, but it showed that the district remains competitive.
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Down in the 2nd District, Jeff Van Drew—the Democrat-turned-Republican—crushed his opponent with 58% of the vote. He has effectively turned that slice of South Jersey into a fortress for the GOP.
What Actually Happened with the "Hidden" Voters?
There’s this theory that New Jersey has a secret stash of conservative voters who only show up when Trump is on the ballot. The 2024 data sort of supports that. Trump actually gained about 85,000 more votes than he did in 2020. Meanwhile, Harris saw a massive drop-off—getting roughly 250,000 fewer votes than Biden did four years ago.
That’s a swing of over 300,000 votes in the wrong direction for the DNC.
Is New Jersey a swing state now? Probably not yet. But it’s definitely not a "safe" state in the way it used to be. The new jersey election results 2024 proved that if the Democrats take the suburbs for granted, the map starts looking very different, very fast.
Key Takeaways from the 2024 Results:
- Turnout is King: The 65% turnout was a record low for a presidential cycle. This suggests a major "enthusiasm gap" that affected the margin more than a literal shift in ideology might have.
- The "Line" is Dead: Andy Kim’s victory is a death knell for the old-school party boss system. Future candidates won't have the same "ballot advantage" that insiders used to enjoy.
- Economic Anxiety: The red shift in places like Passaic and Atlantic counties points toward working-class voters prioritizing cost-of-living issues over social rhetoric.
Next Steps for New Jersey Voters
If you want to stay on top of how these results change your local area, you should check the certified data at the New Jersey Department of State. With the 2025 gubernatorial race right around the corner, these numbers are the blueprint for how both parties will spend their money next.
You might want to look into your specific municipal results to see how your neighbors voted—sometimes the biggest shifts happen at the block level, not the county level. Keeping an eye on how Andy Kim handles his first year in the Senate will also be a major tell for whether his "anti-corruption" brand can actually survive the D.C. swamp.