27th Legislative District (New Jersey)


New Jersey's 27th Legislative District is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature. As of the 2011 apportionment, the district includes the Essex municipalities of Caldwell Borough, Essex Fells Borough, Livingston Township, Maplewood Township, Millburn Township, Roseland Borough, South Orange Village Township, and West Orange Township, and the Morris County municipalities of Chatham Township, East Hanover Township, Florham Park Borough, Hanover Township, Harding Township and Madison Borough.

Demographic characteristics

As of the 2010 United States Census, the district had a population of 204,496, of whom 153,793 were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 114,425 White, 62,162 African American, 598 Native American, 14,173 Asian, 38 Pacific Islander, 7,813 from some other race, and 5,287 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22,066 of the population. The 27th District had 177,817 registered voters as of February 1, 2020, of whom 64,415 were registered as unaffiliated, 74,884 were registered as Democrats, 37,579 were registered as Republicans, and 939 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. 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

The district is represented for the 2020–2021 Legislative Session in the State Senate by Richard Codey and in the General Assembly by John F. McKeon and Mila Jasey.

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, Caldwell, and Essex Fells. For the 1981 redistricting, the 27th consisted of the four municipalities of The Oranges: South Orange, West Orange, Orange, and East Orange and a small sliver of the North Ward of Newark. 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. 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 Borough and West Caldwell Township and Orange.

Election history

Election results

Senate

Assembly