New Jersey's 8th 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 ...
, covering the
Atlantic County
Atlantic County is a County (United States), county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534. municipality of
Hammonton; the
Burlington County municipalities of
Eastampton Township,
Evesham Township,
Hainesport Township,
Lumberton Township,
Mansfield Township,
Medford Township,
Medford Lakes Borough,
Mount Holly Township,
Pemberton Borough,
Pemberton Township,
Shamong Township,
Southampton Township,
Springfield Township,
Westampton Township and
Woodland Township; and the
Camden County municipalities of
Berlin Borough,
Pine Hill Borough, and
Waterford Township as of the
2011 apportionment.
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 221,840, of whom 175,200 (79.0%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 164,132 (74.0%)
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 ...
, 22,489 (10.1%)
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 ...
, 541 (0.2%)
Native American, 9,191 (4.1%)
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 ...
, 141 (0.1%)
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 ...
, 7,333 (3.3%) from
some other race, and 18,013 (8.1%) 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 ...
or
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 20,055 (9.0%) of the population.
The district had 177,065 registered voters as of July 1, 2021, of whom 63,392 (35.8%) were registered as
unaffiliated, 59,938 (33.9%) were registered as
Democrats, 51,684 (29.2%) were registered as
Republicans, and 2,051 (1.2%) were registered to other parties.
Political representation
For the
2022–2023 session, the district is represented in the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
by
Jean Stanfield (
R,
Westampton) 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
Michael Torrissi (R,
Hammonton) and
Brandon Umba (R,
Medford).
Legislative Roster for District 8
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 ...
. Accessed January 11, 2022.
The legislative district overlaps with New Jersey's 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
congressional districts.
1965–1973
During the period of time after 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 ...
'' and before the establishment of a 40-district legislature in 1973, the 8th District encompassed the entirety of Somerset County.[ During the three Senate elections held during this period (1965, 1967, and 1971), Republicans won all three races. Incumbent Senator ]William E. Ozzard
William E. Ozzard (June 15, 1915 — June 29, 2002) was an American Republican Party politician who served for 13 years in the New Jersey Legislature, serving as New Jersey Senate President in 1963. He was President of the New Jersey Board ...
won reelection in 1965 for a two-year term (though he resigned on July 10, 1967), while for the next two elections, Raymond Bateman
Raymond H. "Ray" Bateman (October 29, 1927 – June 25, 2016) was an American politician who represented Somerset County in the New Jersey Senate in the 1960s and 1970s and was the Republican candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 1977. He was t ...
was victorious for both elections.[
In the terms from 1967 until 1973, the 8th District sent two members to the General Assembly. In all elections for two-year terms, Republicans won both seats. John H. Ewing was one victor in the three regular elections (1967, 1969, 1971), while Webster B. Todd Jr. (son of ]Webster B. Todd
Webster Bray Todd (August 27, 1899 – February 8, 1989) was a prominent American businessman, a Republican Party leader in New Jersey, and the father of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman.
Early life
Todd was born in Yonkers, New York, t ...
, brother of Christine Todd Whitman) served one term from 1968 until 1970, Millicent Fenwick
Millicent Vernon Hammond Fenwick (February 25, 1910 – September 16, 1992) was an American fashion editor, politician and diplomat. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, she entered politic ...
was elected in 1969 and 1971, but resigned on December 14, 1972, to become head of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for protecting the public "from fraud, deceit and misrepresentation in the sale of goods and services." The DCA operate ...
, and Victor A. Rizzolo was elected in a special election on January 30, 1973, to complete her term.[
]
District composition since 1973
When the Legislature was switched to 40 equal-population districts statewide, the 8th District created for the 1973 elections was an uncompact district in Burlington, 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 ...
, Monmouth, and Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
counties. With the Keith line
The Keith line was a line drawn through the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey. The line was created by Surveyor-General George Keith in 1686, when he ran the first survey to ...
as a center spine, the district had branches to Medford Township, Manchester Township, Florence Township, Roosevelt
Roosevelt may refer to:
*Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president
* Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president
Businesses and organisations
* Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation)
* Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank
* Rooseve ...
, East Windsor Township, and Lawrence Township.[ In the 1980s, the 8th became inclusive of most of Burlington County stretching from Washington Township north to Bordentown.][ Following the 1990 Census, the district expanded out of Burlington County to Camden County ( Winslow Township, Waterford Township, and Chesilhurst) and Atlantic County (Hammonton and ]Folsom Folsom may refer to:
People
* Folsom (surname)
Places in the United States
* Folsom, Perry County, Alabama
* Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama
* Folsom, California
* Folsom, Georgia
* Folsom, Louisiana
* Folsom, Missouri
* Folsom, New Jerse ...
) with the Burlington County portion including suburban townships of Medford, Evesham, Moorestown, Mount Laurel
Mount Laurel is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the South Jersey region. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 41,864, reflecting an increase of 1 ...
, and Southampton.[ The 2001 redistricting returned the district to being Burlington only again keeping it through the center of the county.][
]
Election history
Election results, 1973–present
Senate
General Assembly
Election results, 1965–1973
Senate
General Assembly
References
{{NewJerseyLegislatureDistricts
Atlantic County, New Jersey
Burlington County, New Jersey
Camden County, New Jersey
08