At 5:35 A.M. on November 6th, the Associated Press called the 2024 Presidential Election for Former President Donald J. Trump.
Ever since President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice-President Harris on July 21st, the polls have been close, showing that the election could go either way between Trump and Harris. However, on election night, the former President secured a decisive victory, winning 312 electoral votes and over 75 million popular votes. President-Elect Trump’s victory can be attributed to winning just a few key swing states, like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia. As well as low voter turnout for the Democrats, with Vice-President Harris only receiving 67 million popular votes as opposed to President Biden’s 81 million popular votes in 2020. While popular votes do not decide the election, they are a key indicator of voter turnout. This triumph makes the President-Elect the first to serve two non-consecutive terms since President Cleveland 1892, and the first Republican president to win the popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004.
Alongside the control over the Executive Branch, this historic election has also given Republicans the majority in the Senate, and is likely to give Republicans the majority in the House, however, a few seats are still undecided. This is not rare for a general election, in both the 2016 and 2020 elections, there was a unified government for the first 2 years of the Presidency until the House of Representatives shifted after the midterm elections. Whether the House will shift in the 2026 midterm elections is dependent on many factors, like the President’s performance and the performance of the party in power.
In a more local scope, New Jersey had an election for one senator and twelve representatives. Democrat Andy Kim won the Senate seat, which opened up after Senator Bob Menendez resigned. The districts that make up most of the Boro community are Districts 3 and 4. In District 3, which was previously represented by Andy Kim, Democrat Herb Conoway won. In District 4, Republican Representative Chris Smith won, making this his 23rd term in Congress.
In the 2025 Elections, New Jersey will be picking a new governor. New Jersey governors are not allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms, meaning Governor Murphy will not be able to run in 2025. Neither parties are yet to hold primaries to decide on their candidates, however many politicians have declared that they will go for the nomination. Democratic candidates that have declared they will run for nomination include Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, Mayor of Jersey City, Steven Fulop, and Stephen Sweeny, the former state Senate President. Republican candidates that have declared they will run for nomination include state senator Jon Bramnick and 2021 nominee Jack Ciattarelli.
