New Jersey's 13th congressional district was a congressional district which was created for the

73rd United States Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

in 1933, based on redistricting following the

1930 United States census The 1930 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated during t ...

. It was last represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Albio Sires Albio B. Sires ( ; born January 26, 1951) is a Cuban-born American businessman and politician serving as the mayor of West New York, New Jersey, since 2023 and previously from 1995 to 2006. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Sires represen ...

when it was eliminated due to redistricting following the 2010 United States census. Most of this district became part of a newly redrawn 8th district in 2013.

Geography

From 2003 to 2013, (based on redistricting following the 2000 census), the district contains portions of 4 counties and 17 municipalities: Essex County: : Newark (part; also 10)

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

: : Bayonne (part), East Newark, Guttenberg,

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

(part; also 9 and 10), Kearny (part; also 9),

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 63,361, an increase of 2,588 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 60,773, ...

(part; also 9), Union City,

Weehawken Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking ...

West New York West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912, an increase of 3,204 (+6.4%) from ...

Middlesex County: : Carteret,

Perth Amboy Perth Amboy is a city in northeastern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", re ...

, Woodbridge Township (part; also 7) Union County: :

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(part; also 10), Linden (part; also 7 and 10)

Demography

Before district elimination based on the last redistricting in 2013, of the district's 647,258 residents, 308,247 identified themselves as being

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, accounting for 47.6% of the district's population.

2006 elections

This district was considered solidly Democratic, with the winner of the Democratic Party primary the near-certain winner in November's general election, both in the special and regular elections. Sires won the seat in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on November 7, 2006, after

Bob Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American former politician and lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

resigned from this seat on January 16, 2006 in advance of his assumption of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

seat vacated by

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006, and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran f ...

, who in turn left his Senate seat to become

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

. Sires also won the general election, and will represent the district through at least 2008. The two most prominent names running for the seat in the regular election were the former Speaker of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, and Assemblyman Joseph Vas, who is also Mayor of

, both of whom ran in the Democratic primary. While the two faced off to fill the full two-year term, Vas decided not to run in the special election to fill the two months remaining in Menendez's term.No special election in June for Vas
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'', April 12, 2006 In the primary for the full two-year term, held on June 6, 2006, Albio Sires beat Joseph Vas, capturing almost 75% of the vote. In the general election, Sires beat Republican John Guarini who had run unopposed for the GOP nod. In the special primary to fill the remaining two months of the current term, Sires won approximately 90% of the vote, defeating James Geron, assuring Sires of the seat as no Republican opposed him in the special election. Sires was sworn into Congress on November 13, 2006.

Election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{Coord, 40.7281575, -74.0776417, format=dms, display=title 13 Essex County, New Jersey Hudson County, New Jersey Middlesex County, New Jersey Union County, New Jersey Former congressional districts of the United States Constituencies established in 1933 1933 establishments in New Jersey Constituencies disestablished in 2013 2013 disestablishments in New Jersey