New Jersey's 5th Legislative District is one of 40 in the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. As of the 2011 apportionment, the district covers the Camden County municipalities of

Audubon The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such org ...

, Audubon Park, Barrington, Bellmawr, Brooklawn, Camden, Gloucester City, Haddon Heights, Lawnside,

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

Mount Ephraim Mount Ephraim ( he, הר אפרים), or alternately Mount of Ephraim, was the historical name for the central mountainous district of Israel once occupied by the Tribe of Ephraim (), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua's time ...

, Runnemede and Woodlynne; and the Gloucester County municipalities of Deptford Township, Harrison Township, Mantua Township, Wenonah, Westville and

Woodbury Woodbury may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Woodbury Glacier, a glacier on Graham Land, British Antarctic Territory Australia * Woodbury, Tasmania, a locality in Australia England * Woodbury, Bournemouth, an area in Dorset *Woodbury, East Devo ...

Demographic characteristics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the district had a population of 221,612, of whom 168,945 (76.2%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 119,934 (54.1%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 45,434 (20.5%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1,208 (0.5%) Native American, 6,686 (3.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 87 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 29,335 (13.2%) from some other race, and 18,928 (8.5%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 51,605 (23.0%) of the population. The district had 163,507 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 59,177 (36.2%) were registered as unaffiliated, 75,237 (46.0%) were registered as Democrats, 26,512 (16.2%) were registered as Republicans, and 2,581 (1.6%) were registered to other parties.

Political representation

For the 2022–2023 session, the district is represented in the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

Nilsa Cruz-Perez Nilsa Cruz-Perez (born January 21, 1961) is an American Democratic Party politician who was sworn into office to represent the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate on December 15, 2014, to fill the vacant seat of Donald Norcross. ...

( D, Barrington) and in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

by Bill Moen (D, Camden) and

William Spearman William W. Spearman (born February 27, 1958) is an American Democratic Party politician from Camden, who has represented the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since taking office on June 30, 2018. Raised in Camden, ...

(D, Camden). The legislative districts are divided evenly based on what overlaps with New Jersey's 1st and 2nd congressional districts.

1965–1973

The 1964 Supreme Court decision in ''

Reynolds v. Sims ''Reynolds v. Sims'', 377 U.S. 533 (1964), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the electoral districts of state legislative chambers must be roughly equal in population. Along with '' Baker v. Carr'' (19 ...

'' required legislative districts' populations be equal as possible. As an interim measure, the 5th District in the 1965 State Senate election encompassed all of

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and Monmouth counties which elected two members of the Senate at-large. Republicans

Richard R. Stout Richard R. Stout (September 21, 1912 – October 16, 1986) was an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1952 to 1974. Born in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune Township, New Jersey, Stout attended Neptune High School, ...

and William T. Hiering won this election for a two-year term. For the 1967 and 1971 elections, the 5th consisted of only Monmouth County and elected two and three Senators respectively. Republicans Stout and Alfred N. Beadleston won the 1967 election for a four-year term while Stout, Beadleston, and Republican Assemblyman

Joseph Azzolina Joseph Azzolina (January 26, 1926 – April 15, 2010) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey Legislature for a total of 24 years. 22 of these years he served in the New Jersey General Assembly while he served t ...

won in the 1971 election for a two-year term. Between 1967 and 1973, the 5th Senate District was split into two Assembly districts, each electing two members. As Monmouth County gained population following the 1970 Census, an additional Assembly member was elected at-large for the 1971 election. The members elected to the Assembly from each district are as follows:

District composition since 1973

Since the creation of the 40-district legislative map in 1973, the 5th District has always been based around the city of Camden and nearby suburbs. In the 1973 iteration of the map, the district began in Camden city and traveled southeast to Hi-Nella. In 1981, some Camden County boroughs and Haddon Township were removed but added to the district were Gloucester City, Bellmawr, and Runnemede in Camden County and Deptford Township and Woodbury Heights. No major changes were made to the district in the 1991 or 2001 reapportionments. The 2011 apportionment added Audubon Park (from the 6th District) and Harrison Township, Mantua Township and Wenonah (all from the 3rd District). Municipalities that had been in the 4th District as part of the 2001 apportionment that were shifted out of the district as of 2011 are Woodbury Heights (to the 3rd District), and Hi-Nella, Somerdale and Stratford (all to the 6th District). The territory currently in the 5th has been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1973. Indeed, the 5th is one of the few districts in the state to have ever elected only one party to all Senate and Assembly seats in every election since 1973. Assemblyman

Arthur Barclay Arthur Barclay (31 July 1854 – 10 July 1938) was the 15th president of Liberia from 1904 to 1912. Early life and education Barclay was born at Bridgetown, Barbados, on 31 July 1854, the tenth of twelve children of Anthony and Sarah Barc ...

resigned his seat on June 19, 2018, citing health reasons. His resignation came less than two weeks following him being arrested for simple assault at his home. Democratic committee members in Camden and Gloucester Counties selected former Camden City Councilman

as his replacement in the Assembly on June 27; he was sworn in on June 30.

Election history

Election results, 1973–present

Senate

General Assembly

Election results, 1965–1973

Senate

General Assembly

District 5A

District 5B

District 5 At-large

References

{{NewJerseyLegislatureDistricts Camden County, New Jersey Gloucester County, New Jersey 05