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Donald Norcross

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Donald W. Norcross (born December 13, 1958) is an American politician and labor leader who is the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district in South Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, Norcross was first elected to this congressional seat in 2014, following the resignation of Rob Andrews. His district covers much of the New Jersey side of the Philadelphia metro area, including Camden, Cherry Hill, Lindenwold, and Glassboro.

Donald Norcross
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 12, 2014
Preceded byRob Andrews
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 19, 2010 – November 12, 2014
Preceded byDana L. Redd
Succeeded byNilsa Cruz-Perez
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
January 12, 2010 – January 19, 2010
Preceded byNilsa Cruz-Perez
Joseph J. Roberts
Succeeded byWhip Wilson
Personal details
Born (1958-12-13) December 13, 1958 (age 65)
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAndrea Doran
Children3
RelativesGeorge Norcross (brother)
John C. Norcross (brother)
EducationCamden County College (AS)
Rutgers University–Camden
WebsiteHouse website
Donald Norcross's voice
Donald Norcross on South Jersey's Sikh community and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots
Recorded November 16, 2022

Before entering electoral politics, Norcross was involved in the leadership of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351 and was president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. He was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 2009, but shortly after his term began in January 2010, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the New Jersey State Senate, where he remained until his election to the House of Representatives.

For the 117th United States Congress, Norcross is a member of the committees on Armed Services as well as Education and Labor. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition, and is a founding member of the Bipartisan Building Trades Caucus.

Early life and education

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Norcross was born on December 13, 1958, in Camden,[1] the son of George E. Norcross Jr. and the brother of George E. Norcross III and John C. Norcross. He and his three brothers were raised in Pennsauken Township. He graduated from Camden County College with a degree in criminal justice, and attended Rutgers University-Camden.[2] He was raised in the Lutheran faith.[3][4][5]

Career

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In 1980, Norcross served as an apprentice in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, eventually becoming assistant business manager of the IBEW Local 351.[6] A former president of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council, he served as president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council for 16 years.[7]

Norcross and his running mate, Camden City Council President Angel Fuentes, were elected to the Assembly in 2009 after Democratic incumbents Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Joseph J. Roberts both retired. Shortly thereafter, Norcross was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Dana Redd, who was elected mayor of Camden. Norcross won the Senate special election in 2010 to finish out the term, then was reelected to the New Jersey Senate in 2011 and 2013.[7][8]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2014

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Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 1

On February 4, 2014, South Jersey Congressman Rob Andrews announced he would resign from Congress by the end of the month, and he did so on February 18.[9]

Norcross announced his candidacy on February 5, and within a week, he was endorsed by every New Jersey congressional Democrat, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, General Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, Mayor of Camden Dana Redd, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, and former Governor Jim Florio (who represented the 1st from 1975 to 1990).[8]

Tenure

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Norcross speaking at the 2017 Women's March in Trenton, New Jersey

Norcross won the Democratic primary—the real contest in what has long been the only safe Democratic district in South Jersey[citation needed]—with 72% of the vote. He ran in two elections on November 4: a special election for the balance of Andrews's term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He easily won both over Republican challenger Garry Cobb. He was sworn in on November 12 by House Speaker John Boehner. Since he was added to the House roll on that date, he gained more seniority than other members of the House freshman class of 2014.

Soon after his election, Norcross was appointed assistant whip, a role he reprised after his 2016 reelection.[10] He now serves in a number of leadership roles in the Democratic Caucus, including co-chair of the Rebuilding America Task Force,[11] member of the Steering and Policy Committee,[12] and member of the Communications Committee.[13] He is also the co-founder of the Bipartisan Building Trades Caucus[14] and vice chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic,[15] and was appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Pension Security.[16]

In 2020, Norcross was mentioned as a possible candidate for secretary of labor under President Joe Biden.[17][18]

Hot mic incident

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On June 24, 2021, during a remote United States House Committee on Education and Labor meeting over Zoom with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Representative Bob Good was questioning Cardona when someone interrupted by shouting "racist!", while Norcross's name flashed on the screen, leading participants to believe that Norcross made the remark; a later report from Fox News explicitly attributed the outburst to Norcross. A letter signed by every Republican member of the committee demanded an apology from Committee Chairman Bobby Scott for what they considered a "slander" and a "smear" against Good. Scott responded by calling the outburst "inappropriate" and "out of order". Norcross did not publicly address the incident.[19][20]

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Personal life

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Norcross is married to Andrea Doran, an echocardiographer. They have two children. Norcross also has a child by his first wife, Nancy.[2][7] His brother George is a New Jersey Democratic leader and businessman, who is currently facing charges for allegedly leading a criminal enterprise involving extortion and the misuse of a state tax incentive program, benefiting his businesses while threatening competitors.[30] He has two other brothers, attorney Philip A. Norcross and John, a psychologist, author, and professor at the University of Scranton. Norcross lives in Camden.[31]

Electoral history

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New Jersey State Senate

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New Jersey State Senate Special elections, 2010[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald W. Norcross (incumbent) 28,801 65.7
Republican Harry E. Trout 15,041 34.3
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald W. Norcross (incumbent) 17,712 56.8
Republican Keith Walker 13,444 43.2
Democratic hold

U.S. House of Representatives

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New Jersey's 1st congressional district: Results 2014–2022
Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct Notes
2014[34] Donald Norcross 93,315 57.4 Garry Cobb 64,073 39.4 Scot John Tomaszewski Independent 1,784 0.9 Robert Shapiro Independent 1,384 0.7 Margaret M. Chapman Independent 1,134 0.7 [a]
2016[35] Donald Norcross 183,231 60.0 Bob Patterson 112,388 36.8 Scot John Tomaszewski Independent 5,473 1.8 William F. Sihr IV Libertarian 2,410 0.8 Michael Berman Independent 1,971 0.7
2018[36] Donald Norcross 169,628 64.4 Paul E. Dilks 87,617 33.3 Robert Shapiro Libertarian 2,821 1.1 Paul Hamlin Independent 2,368 0.9 Mohammad Kabir Independent 984 0.4
2020[37] Donald Norcross 240,567 62.5 Claire Gustafson 144,463 37.5
2022[38] Donald Norcross 139,559 62.3 Claire Gustafson 78,794 35.2 Patricia Kline Independent 3,343 1.5 Isaiah Fletcher Libertarian 1,546 0.7 Allen Cannon Independent 642 0.3

Notes

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  1. ^ Additional candidates in this election included independents Mike Berman with 634 votes (0.4%) and Donald E. Letton with 449 votes (0.3%).[34]

References

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  1. ^ "NORCROSS, Donald - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Roh, Jane (September 6, 2009). "Another Norcross on the rise". Courier-Post. p. 1.
  3. ^ Religion: Lutheran per biodata, ccbq.capwiz.com; accessed December 1, 2014.
  4. ^ "Profile of Donald Norcross". house.ontheissues.org.
  5. ^ "New Jersey-1: Donald Norcross (D)".
  6. ^ "Norcross: Why I'm running for the State Assembly". September 2, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c Profile, norcross.house.gov; accessed November 17, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Rob Andrews to leave Congress, philly.com; accessed November 17, 2014.
  9. ^ "N.J. Democrat Rob Andrews to resign from Congress", washingtonpost.com; accessed November 17, 2014.
  10. ^ "Congressman Norcross Re-Appointed to Democratic Leadership Position". January 18, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  11. ^ "Norcross Named Co-Chair of House Democrats' 'Jobs for America' Effort". September 13, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Congressman Norcross Appointed to Democratic Leadership Committee". January 25, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Rep. Norcross Named to House Democrats' New Policy & Communications Committee". January 14, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Building a Better America Together". March 22, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  15. ^ "Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Releases Legislative Agenda for 2018". January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  16. ^ "Norcross Appointed to Select Committee on Pension Security". February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  17. ^ Logan, John (November 22, 2020). "What's behind the divisions over Biden's secretary of Labor?". The Hill. Retrieved June 14, 2023. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), who also has strong building trades connections
  18. ^ Wildstein, David (August 26, 2020). "How Norcross gets replaced in Congress if Biden makes him Secretary of Labor". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  19. ^ Hakimi, Lauren (June 24, 2021). "'Racist' shouted at GOP congressman while he pressed education secretary on critical race theory". CNN. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  20. ^ Keene, Houston (June 25, 2021). "Republicans demand apology after Democrat calls congressman 'racist' for CRT questions". Fox News. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  21. ^ "Full Biography". December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Norcross Appointed to Select Committee on Pension Security". February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  23. ^ "Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Releases Legislative Agenda for 2018". January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  24. ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  25. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  26. ^ "Membership". Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  27. ^ "Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi And Ralph Norman Relaunch The Bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus For The 118th Congress". United States Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  28. ^ "Northeast Philly Dem Brendan Boyle forms "blue collar caucus" in Congress". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  29. ^ "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  30. ^ https://whyy.org/articles/george-norcross-new-jersey-indicted-racketeering/
  31. ^ "Full Biography". December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  32. ^ "New Jersey Department of State - Division of Elections". Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011. "New Jersey Senate, (retrieved on 12/12/11).
  33. ^ Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived July 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed January 7, 2012.
  34. ^ a b "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  35. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  36. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  37. ^ "Official General Election Results: U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Elections. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  38. ^ "Official General Election Results: U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Elections. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Norcross.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 5th district
2010 		Succeeded by
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 5th district
2010–2014 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 1st congressional district
2014–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
150th 		Succeeded by
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