New Jersey's 27th 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 includes the

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

municipalities of Caldwell, Essex Fells,

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, Maplewood, Millburn, Roseland,

South Orange South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

, and West Orange, and the Morris County municipalities of Chatham Township, East Hanover,

Florham Park Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Harding Township and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

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 233,779, of whom 180,070 (77.0%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 144,266 (61.7%)

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 ...

, 30,118 (12.9%)

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 ...

, 521 (0.2%) Native American, 30,448 (13.0%)

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 ...

, 76 (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 ...

, 9,681 (4.1%) from some other race, and 18,669 (8.0%) 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 23,424 (10.0%) of the population. The 27th District had 189,871 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 67,129 (35.4%) were registered as unaffiliated, 82,983 (43.7%) were registered as Democrats, 38,706 (20.4%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,053 (0.6%) were registered to other parties. The district includes a number of comparatively wealthy communities in Western Essex County, as well as a number of relatively poor areas close to

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

. The 27th district had one of the lowest percentages in the state of registered Republicans, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by a more than 2–1 margin.

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 ...

by Richard Codey ( D, Roseland) 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 Mila Jasey (D,

) and John F. McKeon (D, West Orange). The legislative district overlaps with 10th and 11th congressional districts.

Apportionment history

In the original creation of the 40-district legislative map in 1973, the 27th District consisted of the northern Essex County municipalities of Nutley, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Cedar Grove,

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, Caldwell, and Essex Fells. For the 1981 redistricting, the 27th consisted of the four municipalities of

The Oranges The Oranges are a group of four municipalities in Essex County, New Jersey, all of which have the word ''Orange'' in their name. The four municipalities are Orange, East Orange, South Orange and West Orange. All of these communities were n ...

: South Orange, West Orange,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

, and

East Orange East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-po ...

and a small sliver of the North Ward of

. In the next redistricting in 1991, Montclair was added to the district and some Newark wards were removed. With declining population through western Essex County, most of that side of the county made up the 27th District following the 2001 redistricting including Maplewood, Livingston, Fairfield Township, and

The Caldwells The Caldwells are a group of three municipalities in Essex County, New Jersey, all of which have the word ''Caldwell'' in their name. All of these communities are named after the Reverend James Caldwell, a Patriot who played an active role suppo ...

. East Orange and the portions of the North Ward of Newark were removed but a small portion of Upper Vailsburg, Newark was included in the district this decade. Changes to the district made as part of the New Jersey Legislative reapportionment in 2011 removed the district's share of Newark while adding Millburn in Essex County, and the Republican-leaning Morris County municipalities of Chatham Township, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover Township, Harding Township and Madison. This made the district slightly more Republican than its predecessor. Shifted out of the district were Fairfield Township,

North Caldwell North Caldwell is a borough in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,694, an increase of 511 (+8.3%) from the 2010 census count ...

and

West Caldwell West Caldwell is a township located in the West Essex area in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located approximately west of Manhattan and northwest of Newark. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's pop ...

(to

District 26 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

) and Orange (to

District 34 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

). Following the reapportionment in 2021, all of the municipalities in Morris County were removed from the district, while the Passaic County municipality of

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

was shifted from its longtime home in the 34th district. Montclair was shifted to the district for the first time since 2001.

Election history

Election results

Senate

General Assembly

References

{{NewJerseyLegislatureDistricts Essex County, New Jersey Morris County, New Jersey 27