On November 4, New Jersey held elections for all 80 seats in the New Jersey General Assembly, as well as the Office of the Governor.

In the closely watched race that is seen as a bellwether for the nation, Democratic candidate Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill won by a comfortable margin-by 13 percentage points- against Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli.

In the Assembly races, Democrats expanded their majority, winning in competitive districts, and flipping multiple Republican held seats. With some races still too close to call, Democrats are on the verge of possibly holding a veto proof majority when General Assembly reorganizes on January 13, 2026 for the new legislative session.

Below please find a summary of the South Jersey legislative races, as well as other competitive Districts across the state and other unexpected surprises:

In the First Legislative District, incumbent Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, both Republicans, won reelection.

In the Second Legislative District, the race remains too close to call in a surprisingly close race. Republican incumbent Assemblyman Donald Guardian and Democratic challenger Maureen Rowan narrowly lead incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Claire Swift and Democratic challenger Joanne Famularo. Should Assemblywoman Swift lose, this is one of the biggest Assembly upsets in South Jersey.

In the Third Legislative District, Democrats retained the seats won in 2023, held by Assemblywoman Heather Simmons and Assemblyman David Baily Jr. This is noteworthy as Republican Jack Ciattarelli won Salem County, which makes up a large part of the District, by 16 points.

The Fourth Legislative District, Democrats also retained both seats held by incumbents Assemblymen Dan Hutchison and Cody Miller.

The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Legislative Districts all remained unchanged with Democratic incumbents winning: Assemblymen William Moen and William Spearman in the Fifth; Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and Assemblywoman Melinda Kane in the Sixth; and Assemblywoman Carol Murphy and Assemblyman Balvir Singh in the Seventh.

The Eighth Legislative District was a rematch of the 2023 race with Democratic incumbent Assemblywoman Andrea Katz and running mate Anthony Angelozzi narrowly defeating Republican incumbent Assemblyman Michael Torrissi and former-Assemblyman Brandon Umba. The District, which was previously split with one Democratic and one Republican Assemblymember, now moves to being fully Democratic controlled in the General Assembly.

Outside of South Jersey in the 11th Legislative District, Democratic incumbents Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul retained their seats.

In the 16th Legislative District, incumbents Assemblyman Roy Freiman and Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis won reelection.

In the 38th Legislative District, Democratic incumbents Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Chris Tully defeated the Republican slate.

Some of the biggest surprises of the evening came from North Jersey. In the 21st Legislative District, Democratic challengers Andrew Macurdy and Vincent Kearney unseated Republican incumbents Assemblywomen Nancy Munoz and Michele Matsikoudis.

Another surprise occurred in the 25th Legislative District. The race is currently too close to call, with Republican incumbent Assemblywoman Aura Dunn narrowly winning re-election. Assemblyman Christian Barranco leads narrowly over Democratic challenger Marisa Sweeney.

Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill and the newly elected members of the Legislature will be sworn in at the start of the 222nd Legislative Session, which begins on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, after which Governor-Elect Sherrill will deliver an address to a Joint session of the Legislature.