- 15th Legislative District (New Jersey)
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New Jersey's 15th Legislative district 
New Jersey State Senator Shirley Turner (D) New Jersey General Assemblymembers Reed Gusciora (D)
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D)Registration 28.5% Democratic 11.0% Republican60.5% IndependentDemographics 58.8% White 29.2% Black11.7% Hispanic3.6% Asian0.2% Native American0.1% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander8.0% otherPopulation 201,335 Voting-age population 154,009 Registered voters 112,965 New Jersey's 15th Legislative District is one of 40 in the state, covering the Mercer County municipalities of Ewing Township, Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township, Pennington Borough, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and Trenton.[1] As of the 2000 United States Census, the district had a population of 212,000.[2]
Contents
Demographic characteristics
The district includes New Jersey's capital, Trenton and a number of its comparatively wealthier suburbs to the north. The district has the smallest population of any district in the state, and has a comparatively higher percentage of African-American residents and a notable percentage of children in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by an almost 3 to 1 margin.[3][4]
Political representation
The district is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Shirley Turner (D, Lawrenceville) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Reed Gusciora (D, Borough of Princeton) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, Ewing Township).[5]
Election history
The district had been solidly Republican until 1982, when redistricting following the 1980 United States Census added Trenton to the district, and made the 15th a strongly Democratic district.[6][7] The 1981 elections brought in Democrats Gerald R. Stockman in the Senate, along with Gerald S. Naples and John S. Watson in the Assembly. The trio remained together in office for a decade.
New Jersey Lottery television host ran as a Republican in 1991, having registered with the party only five days before that year's filing deadline. He defeated incumbent Gerald R. Stockman by a narrow 50.9%-49.1% margin.[8] His Republican running mate John W. Hartmann knocked off Naples, while Democrat Watson was narrowly re-elected to a sixth term in office. Hartmann, a 24-year-old student at the Seton Hall University School of Law, became the youngest Republican ever elected to the Assembly.[9]
In the 1993 elections, Democrats sought to recoup their losses suffered in the 1991 Republican landslide. In the Assembly, Shirley Turner and Joseph Yuhas ran for office, winning back Hartmann's seat from the Republicans. LaRossa faced Stockman for a second time in 1993, with the incumbent receiving endorsements from the AFL-CIO, locals of the Communication Workers of America and the New Jersey State Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.[10] LaRossa won re-election despite the challenge.[11]
Yuhas stepped down after a single term in office and was replaced on the ballot in 1995 by Reed Gusciora.[12]
References
- ^ Districts by Number, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000 for General Assembly District 15, New Jersey, United States Census Bureau. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ District 15 Profile, Rutgers University. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book. Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. p. 72.
- ^ "Legislative Roster: 2010-2011 Session". New Jersey Legislature. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/roster.asp. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
- ^ a b NJ Senate District 15 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ a b NJ Assembly 15 - History, OurCampaigns.com. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ Gray, Jerry. "Television's 'Lottery Guy' Strives to Stay in Senate", The New York Times, September 4, 1992. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ Gray, Jerry. "A Legislature With a Less Urban Tone", The New York Times, November 14, 1991. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ Sullivan, Joseph F. "'90 Tax Rise Overshadows Trenton Races", The New York Times, October 18, 1993. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Joseph F. "THE 1993 ELECTIONS: New Jersey Legislature; Cut Taxes 30 Percent? Whitman's Top Statehouse Allies Say Not So Fast", The New York Times, November 4, 1993. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ Edge, Wally. "Where are they now?", PolitickerNJ.com, November 10, 2006. Accessed June 24, 2010.
- ^ Staff. "Vote Totals for the Elections Held on Tuesday in New York and New Jersey", The New York Times, November 9, 1989. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ Staff. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for the New Jersey Assembly", The New York Times, November 5, 1997. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ Kocieniewski, David. "THE 1999 ELECTIONS: NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLY; Democrats Win Seats in Three Districts, Narrowing Republicans' Majority", The New York Times, November 3, 1999. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ Staff. "THE 2001 ELECTIONS; RESULTS -- The Races for New Jersey", The New York Times, November 8, 2001. Accessed June 23, 2010.
- ^ Kocieniewski, David. "THE 2003 ELECTION: THE STATEHOUSE; Democrats Seize Senate And Widen Assembly Gap", The New York Times, November 5, 2003. Accessed June 23, 2010.
Categories:- Mercer County, New Jersey
- New Jersey legislative districts
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