James K. "Jay" Webber (born February 29, 1972) is an American Republican politician, who has served in 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 ...

since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th legislative district. Webber has served in the Assembly as the Minority Appropriations Officer since 2018.

Early life and education

Webber was born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) f ...

. Raised in

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 Sc ...

, he attended Saint Joseph Regional High School. He received a B.A. in International Studies from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, where he was

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and a Second Team All-American in baseball. He served as Budget Staffer and District Director to William J. Martini during his term in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. After leaving Congressman Martini's office, Webber was a staff member at the Manhattan Institute. Webber earned a J.D. from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

and clerked for

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

justice Peter Verniero.

New Jersey Senate campaign

At age 30 in 2003, Webber ran in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works ...

against

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Robert Martin by running to the

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

of the senator. Martin defeated Webber by approximately 1,900 votes, 15 percentage points from the total vote.

New Jersey Assembly

In 2007, following the retirement of Martin from the Senate and incumbent Assemblyman

Joseph Pennacchio Joseph Pennacchio (born May 27, 1955) is an American Republican Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey Senate since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th Legislative District. Pennacchio has served in the Senate as the Dep ...

deciding to run for Martin's seat, Webber ran in the Republican primary for Pennacchio's Assembly seat. Incumbent

Alex DeCroce Alex DeCroce (June 10, 1936 – January 9, 2012) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 26th Legislative District from 1989 until his death. He was the Assembly's Rep ...

took the most votes in the June primary (9,833 votes or 41.1%) while Webber advanced to the November general election by coming in second (7,679 votes, 32.2%) defeating

Kinnelon Kinnelon () is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, located approximately west of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,966, a drop of 282 (-2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 1 ...

councilman Larry Casha (6,369 votes, 26.7%). Webber was elected in the general election and has subsequently been re-elected every two years since then.

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:Assemblyman Jay Webber

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 28, 2022. *Appropriations *Financial Institutions and Insurance

District 26

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative 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, ...

and two members in the

. The representatives from the 26th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are: *Senator

(R) *Assemblyman

Christian Barranco Christian Barranco (born December 31, 1969) is an American politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 26th district since taking office on January 11, 2022. He served on the Pompton Lakes Borough Council from 2017 to ...

(R) *Assemblyman Jay Webber (R)

New Jersey Republican Party chairmanship

On June 11, 2009, Republican gubernatorial candidate

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Christie, who was born in N ...

announced his selection of Webber to succeed Tom Wilson as chairman of the

New Jersey Republican State Committee The New Jersey Republican State Committee (NJGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in New Jersey. It was founded in 1880 and is currently led by Bob Hugin. Current leadership * Bob Hugin, Chairman * Lynda A. Pagliughli, V ...

. State Committee members unanimously supported the selection of Webber in a vote on June 17, 2009. Webber announced that he would be leaving the Chairman's post in January 2011, and was succeeded by

Sam Raia Samuel S. Raia is a Republican Party politician who is the former of Mayor of Saddle River, New Jersey and past Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee. Raia has served as mayor of Saddle River from 2009 to 2017 and had served on ...

2018 U.S. House campaign

On February 3, 2018, Webber announced he would officially run for the U.S. House seat representing

New Jersey's 11th congressional district New Jersey's 11th congressional district is a suburban district in northern New Jersey. The district includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties; it is centered in Morris County. The 11th congressional district, along with the 12 ...

, after incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen announced on January 29 that he would not seek reelection. Webber received the Republican Party nomination in the June 6 primary election, defeating Anthony Ghee and Peter DeNeufville. He was defeated by Democratic nominee

Mikie Sherrill Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill (; born January 19, 1972) is an American politician, former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, attorney, and former federal prosecutor An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service ...

in the November general election. Sherrill won 56.2% of the vote to Webber's 42.7%, defeating him by 13.5%, a 33 percentage-point shift in the vote share towards the Democrat compared to the last election. It was the largest partisan swing of any district in the 2018 House Elections.

Personal life

He is married to Johanna, with whom he has eight children. He is a resident of Morris Plains. He owns a law firm based in Whippany.

Electoral history

New Jersey Assembly

United States House of Representatives

References

External links

State legislative page
*
Assemblyman Webber's legislative webpage

* ''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
20172016201520142013201220112010200920082007
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Jay 1972 births 21st-century American politicians Chairmen of the New Jersey Republican State Committee Harvard Law School alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people New Jersey lawyers Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Morris Plains, New Jersey People from Teaneck, New Jersey Politicians from Clifton, New Jersey Saint Joseph Regional High School alumni Candidates in the 2018 United States elections