Democrats sweep South Jersey districts in general election

Zack Mullock defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District in Tuesday’s general election. Rebecca Bennett also won a decisive victory in the 7th District, unseating Republican incumbent Thomas H. Kean Jr. These results were part of a widespread Democratic performance across the state that analysts described as a major shift in voter alignment.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who campaigned for Mullock, said voters expressed a strong desire for representation in Washington. She stated that residents felt Van Drew was not serving their interests. “They wanted a voice in Washington and they weren’t feeling that Van Drew was representing them,” Sherrill said. “That came through to me loud and clear.” As of Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press had not officially declared a winner due to the close count, but Mullock held a 3-percentage-point lead.

The victory in the 2nd District included key counties in South Jersey. Atlantic, Cumberland, and Gloucester counties, which had supported Republican candidates in the 2021 gubernatorial race, swung back to the Democratic side. Alyssa Maurice, assistant director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University, noted that the district contains some of the state’s poorest counties. She said these areas have seen large voting swings in recent years.

Matthew Hale, an associate professor of political science at Seton Hall University, observed that white working-class men in the district may have decided to change their voting habits. He suggested that while Van Drew is respected, he lacks a personal connection with some voters. “He’s probably not the guy that people would say they want to have a beer with,” Hale said. “You’re never going to see him in an Eagle sweatshirt like you saw Zack in.”

Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Christopher H. Smith held his seat in the neighboring 4th District. He defeated Democratic challenger Rachel Peace by 18 percentage points. Although Smith is a long-serving member of Congress, his margin of victory was smaller than in previous cycles. Alyssa Maurice noted that Smith won by nearly 36 percentage points in 2024. The change reflected a broader impact on the Republican ticket across the state.

Local races also saw significant Democratic gains. In Monmouth County, Democrats claimed their first countywide victories since 2008. In Hunterdon County, a Democrat won a commissioner seat for the first time since 1979. Democrats also won control of the Board of County Commissioners in Cumberland County and narrowed the Republican majority in Atlantic County.

Analysts believe the results force New Jersey Republicans to reconsider their strategy. Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said the party has an opportunity to define its next direction. He suggested they could position themselves as fiscal conservatives or as a MAGA group distinct from President Donald Trump. Hale said the era of complete loyalty to Trump is ending, noting that the party is tired of losing.

Sherrill said the election results were a rejection of the policies associated with the current administration. She cited the federal funding freeze for the Gateway Tunnel Project and the denial of disaster aid for New Jersey and other Democratic-led states. “It’s also about standing up and stopping the worst impulses of the president,” Rasmussen said. “That may be contentious, but that is apparently what voters have voted for.”