2011 New Jersey elections

A general election was held in the U.S. state of New Jersey on November 8, 2011. Primary elections were held on June 7. The only state positions up in this election cycle were all 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly and all 40 seats in the Senate. In addition to the State Legislative elections, numerous county offices and freeholders in addition to municipal offices were up for election. There was one statewide ballot question, in which voters approved legislation to legalize gambling. Some counties and municipalities may have had local ballot questions. Non-partisan local elections, some school board elections, and some fire district elections also happened throughout the year.

Legislature

Senate

Main article: 2011 New Jersey Senate election

2011 New Jersey Senate elections

November 4, 2011
All 40 seats in the New Jersey State Senate 21 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Steve Sweeney Tom Kean Jr. Party Democratic Republican Leader's seat 3rd 21st Last election 23 17 Seats before 24 16 Seats won 24 16 Seat change Popular vote 677,435 645,569 Percentage 51.1% 48.7%
Results by district      Democratic hold      Republican hold
Senate President before election Steve Sweeney Democratic Elected Senate President Steve Sweeney Democratic

The 2011 New Jersey State Senate elections were held on November 4. The election took place midway through Chris Christie's first term as Governor of New Jersey. No seats changed hands, though Democrats had gained one seat in a 2010 special election with Linda Greenstein's victory over Tom Goodwin.

This was the first election under maps drawn after the 2010 census. Three incumbents retired from the Senate including Sean Kean, who was redistricted into Jennifer Beck's district and ran for Assembly rather than challenge her.

General Assembly

Main article: 2011 New Jersey General Assembly election

New Jersey General Assembly Elections, 2011

November 8, 2011
All 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly 41 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Sheila Oliver Alex DeCroce Party Democratic Republican Leader since January 12, 2010 January 12, 2004 Leader's seat 34th (East Orange) 26th (Parisippany-Troy Hills) Last election 47 33 Seats won 48 32 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,339,201 1,253,824 Percentage 51.2% 48.0% Swing 3.6% 3.9%
Results:      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold
Speaker before election Sheila Oliver Democratic Elected Speaker Sheila Oliver Democratic

All 80 seats in the General Assembly were up for election this year. In each Legislative district, there are two people elected; the top two winners in the general election are the ones sent to the Assembly. Typically, the two members of each party run as a team in each election. After the previous election, Democrats captured 47 seats while the Republicans won 33 seats. These were the first elections to be held after the 2010 redistricting cycle.

Democrats gained one seat, by flipping a seat in the 4th district, which they had only lost two years prior.

Overall results

Summary of the November 8, 2011 New Jersey General Assembly election results:

↓

48	32
Democratic	Republican

Parties		Candidates	Seats				Popular Vote
			2009	2011	+/-	Strength	Vote	%	Change
	Democratic	80	47	48	1	60%	1,339,201	51.2%	0.0%
	Republican	79	33	32	1	40%	1,253,824	48.0%	0.0%
	Green	2	0	0		0%	2,284	0.1%	0.0%
	Libertarian	4	0	0		0%	3,692	0.1%	0.0%
	Independent	10	0	0		0%	15,310	0.6%	0.0%
Total		176	80	80	0	100.0%	2,614,311	100.0%	-

Ballot measures

One statewide question was on the ballot. It was approved by voters:

• Public Question Number 1, The measure amended the state constitution to allow the legislature to legalize betting on the results of professional, college, and amateur sporting events.

Question 1

Choice	Votes	%
Yes Y	671,797	63.9%
No N	379,339	36.1%
Total votes	1,051,136	100%

External links

• New Jersey Department of State - Division of Elections 2011 Election Information
• New Jersey elections, 2011 - Ballotpedia