The district had 149,525 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 58,590 (39.2%) were registered as Unaffiliated, 70,819 (47.4%) were registered as Democrats, 18,119 (12.1%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,997 (1.3%) were registered to other parties.[6]
Homeownership was high. The district had a large population of Asian Americans, third highest in the state, while having the third-smallest population of senior citizens among the 40 legislative districts. Registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by a 3 to 1 margin.[7][8]
Since the 1973 creation of the 40-district legislative map, the 17th district has always been anchored by the city of New Brunswick and Piscataway Township. The 1973 iteration of the district also included Franklin Township and Manville in Somerset County and Highland Park, Middlesex, Dunellen, and South Plainfield.[10] In the 1981 redistricting, the two Somerset County municipalities were shifted to the 14th district while the 17th picked up the Union County city of Plainfield.[11] Dunellen was removed under the 1991 redistricting, but Somerset's Bound Brook was added.[12]
As part of the 2001 apportionment, based on the results of the 2000 United States census, changes were made which removed Bound Brook (moved to the 16th district), Middlesex Borough and Plainfield City (to the 22nd district) and South Plainfield borough (to the 18th district) and added Franklin Township (from the 16th legislative district), Milltown Borough and North Brunswick Township (also from the 18th district).[13]
Changes to the district made as part of the New Jersey Legislative apportionment in 2011, based on the results of the 2010 census resulted in the removal of Highland Park (to the 18th district).[14]
After 20 years in office, John A. Lynch Sr. did not run for re-election in 1977, due to illness. Assembly Speaker William J. Hamilton ran for the vacant Senate seat and Joseph D. Patero and David C. Schwartz were the Democratic candidates for Assembly in a district that voted for Democrats by a 2-1 margin.[15]
After losing the support of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, Assemblymember Angela L. Perun announced in March 1985 that she had switched parties and would run as a Republican in that year's general election, after having served two terms in office as a Democrat and having been a vocal opponent of the Reagan Administration.[16][17] Piscataway mayor Bob Smith was given Perun's spot and the Assembly ballot, and he won election together with incumbent David C. Schwartz.[18]
Despite his confidence that he would win re-election if he chose to run, David C. Schwartz decided not to run for re-election in 1991 after seven terms of office, saying that he was reluctant to serve in the minority party in the new legislative term.[19]Jerry Green took Schwartz's open seat in the general Election.[20]
Owing to Middlesex County's strong Democratic leanings, the 17th district has never elected a Republican legislator, only being briefly represented by one when Perun switched parties in 1985.[25]
^Ackerman, Spencer. "To fill Lynch's big shoes, Smith stresses education"[permanent dead link], The Daily Targum, October 30, 2001. Accessed April 23, 2008. "Now, Assemblyman and former Piscataway Mayor Bob Smith is looking to take over for retiring State Sen. John Lynch, the powerful democrat castigated by his detractors as running 'the Lynch machine'."
^Friedman, Matt. "N.J. Assembly swears in new member from Somerset County", NJ.com, October 16, 2014. Accessed October 19, 2014. "Joseph Danielsen, the municipal chairman of the Franklin Township Democrats, was sworn in today to fill the state Assembly seat just vacated by Democrat Upendra Chivukula, whom Gov. Chris Christie tapped for a seat on the state Board of Public Utilities."
^Tzatzev, Aleksi. "Democratic candidates hold onto NJ Legislative seats in Middlesex County", Daily Targum, November 9, 2011. Accessed March 4, 2012. "All three District 17 Democrats celebrated victories over their Republican challengers at a late night Middlesex County Democratic Organization event. Sen. Bob Smith alongside Assemblymen Upendra Chivukula and Joseph Egan — all incumbents — won back their seats yesterday in the N.J. Legislature."