New Jersey Politics 101

New Jersey Politics 101 was created by the writers of the community blog BlueJersey and is intended to serve as an introduction to government and politics in the state of New Jersey. We hope that after reading this guide, you will feel comfortable reading about and contributing to the discussion on issues affecting the state.

This document is intended to be updated regularly with current information. If you have comments, corrections, suggestions, updates or would like to contribute content for this guide, send us an email.

An Introduction to New Jersey

New Jersey is the most densely populated state with nearly 8.7 million residents. The population is very diverse: 66% are White, 13.6% Black, 13.3% Hispanic and 5.7% Asian. The religious breakdown is: 77% Christian (39% Roman Catholic, 36% Protestant), 5% Jewish, 1% Muslim and 16% Non-Religious. New Jersey lies between New York and Philadelphia - the first and fourth largest media markets in the country, which makes campaigning in the state very expensive.

This introductory guide to New Jersey is broken up into three main sections: Government/Politics, Issues and Important Names.

1. Government and Politics

New Jersey has many different, sometimes complicated levels of government, each representing different physical boundaries. In this section we identify the various levels of government, beginning at the top with representation at the Federal level and proceding down to the State, County and Municipal level. We then introduce the organization and structure of the Democratic party and explain why and how the party County chairs, sometimes refered to as the party "bosses" have so much power. Primary elections and requirements for voting round up this section.

2. Issues

In this section, we provide an introduction to some of the major issues affecting New Jersey. Some issues, like the Highlands and Home Rule, are unique to New Jersey. Others important issues in New Jersey include Suburban Sprawl, Urban Issues, Pay-to-Play, Property Taxes, Verified Voting, Women in Government, Stem Cell Research and Domestic Partners.

3. Important Names in NJ Politics

This section is self-explanatory. While it's not an exhaustive list, it contains information on some of the most influential players in NJ state politics. They include:

• John Adler (D)
• Steve Adubato (D)
• Dick Codey (D)
• Leonard T Conners Jr (R)
• Jon Corzine (D)
• Raymond Durkin (D)
• William L. Gormley (R)
• Sharpe James (D)
• Tom Kean Jr (R)
• Bob Menendez (D)
• George Norcross (D)
• Donald Payne (D)
• Joe Roberts (D)