2002 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey

The 2002 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey were held on November 5, 2002, to determine who would represent the people of New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives. This election coincided with national elections for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. New Jersey has thirteen seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms.

2002 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey

← 2000 November 5, 2002 (2002-11-05) 2004 →
All 13 New Jersey seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 7 6 Seats won 7 6 Seat change Popular vote 1,030,204 933,964 Percentage 51.35% 46.55% Swing 0.05 0.25
Democratic   Hold Republican   Hold Party gains Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% District results Democratic   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90–100% Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% County results

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey, 2002
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,030,204	51.35%	7
	Republican	933,964	46.55%	6
	Libertarian	11,062	0.55%	0
	Green	10,024	0.49%	0
	Independents	20,805	1.03%	0
Totals		2,006,059	100.00%	13	—

Background

Following the 2000 United States census, the New Jersey legislature conducted decennial redistricting.

District 1

See also: New Jersey's 1st congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Rob Andrews won. This district covered Camden County.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Rob Andrews, incumbent Representative from Haddon Heights since 1990

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rob Andrews (incumbent)	18,362	100.00%
Turnout			18,362

General election

Candidates

• Rob Andrews, incumbent Representative from Haddon Heights since 1990 (Democratic)
• Timothy Haas (Independent)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 1st congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rob Andrews (incumbent)	121,846	92.74%
	Independent	Timothy Haas	9,543	7.26%
Turnout			131,389
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: New Jersey's 2nd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Frank A. LoBiondo won. This district covers the southern part of the state.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Frank LoBiondo, incumbent Representative from Millville since 1995

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo (incumbent)	25,335	100.00%
Turnout			25,335

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Steven A. Farkas

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steven A. Farkas	9,182	100.00%
Turnout			9,182

General election

Candidates

• Steven A. Farkas (Democratic)
• Frank LoBiondo, incumbent Representative from Millville since 1995 (Republican)
• Michael Matthews Jr. (Libertarian)
• Roger Merle (Green)
• Constantino Rozzo (Socialist)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 2nd congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank LoBiondo (incumbent)	116,834	69.21%
	Democratic	Steven A. Farkas	47,735	28.28%
	Green	Roger Merle	1,739	1.03%
	Libertarian	Michael Matthews Jr.	1,720	1.02%
	Socialist	Constantino Rozzo	771	0.46%
Turnout			168,799
	Republican hold

District 3

See also: New Jersey's 3rd congressional district

Incumbent Republican Jim Saxton won. The district covers Burlington and Ocean counties.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jim Saxton, incumbent Representative from Mount Holly since 1984

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Saxton (incumbent)	24,884	100.00%
Turnout			24,884

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Richard Strada

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Richard Strada	10,431	100.00%
Turnout			10,431

General election

Candidates

• Raymond Byrne (Libertarian)
• Ken Feduniewicz (Independent)
• Jim Saxton, incumbent Representative from Mount Holly since 1984 (Republican)
• Richard Strada (Democratic)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Saxton (incumbent)	123,375	65.02%
	Democratic	Richard Strada	64,364	33.92%
	Libertarian	Raymond Byrne	1,335	0.70%
	Independent	Ken Feduniewicz	665	0.35%
Turnout			189,739
	Republican hold

District 4

See also: New Jersey's 4th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Chris Smith won. This district covers 4 counties in the central part of the state.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Chris Smith, incumbent Representative from Robbinsville since 1981

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Smith (incumbent)	19,667	100.00%
Turnout			19,667

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Mary Brennan

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Brennan	8,589	100.00%
Turnout			8,589

General election

Candidates

• Mary Brennan (Democratic)
• Don Graham (Independent)
• Keith Quarles (Libertarian)
• Chris Smith, incumbent Representative from Robbinsville since 1981 (Republican)
• Hermann Winkelmann (Independent)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 4th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chris Smith (incumbent)	115,293	66.15%
	Democratic	Mary Brennan	55,967	32.11%
	Libertarian	Keith Quarles	1,211	0.71%
	Independent	Hermann Winkelmann	1,063	0.61%
	Independent	Don Graham	767	0.44%
Turnout			174,301
	Republican hold

District 5

See also: New Jersey's 5th congressional district

Republican Scott Garrett held the open seat. This district covers the northern border of the state.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Akram Yosari Abdelrahman
• Gerald Cardinale, State Senator from Demarest
• Brian Fox
• Scott Garrett, Assemblyman from Wantage and candidate for this seat in 1998 and 2000
• David C. Russo, Assemblyman from Ridgewood

Declined

• Marge Roukema, incumbent Representative from Ridgewood since 1981

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott Garrett	16,234	44.99%
	Republican	David C. Russo	9,299	25.77%
	Republican	Gerald Cardinale	9,109	25.25%
	Republican	Akram Yosri Abdelrahman	773	2.14%
	Republican	Brian Fox	665	1.84%
Turnout			36,080	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Anne Sumers

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anne Sumers	6,365	100.00%
Turnout			6,365

General election

Candidates

• Michael Cino (Independent)
• Scott Garrett, Assemblyman from Wantage and candidate for this seat in 1998 and 2000 (Republican)
• Anne Sumers (Democratic)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Lean R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Lean R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 5th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott Garrett	118,881	59.48%
	Democratic	Anne Sumers	76,504	38.28%
	Independent	Michael Cino	4,466	2.23%
Turnout			199,851
	Republican hold

District 6

See also: New Jersey's 6th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Frank Pallone defeated Republican challenger Ric Medrow. Between 2003 and 2013, this district covered parts of Monmouth, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Frank Pallone, incumbent Representative from Long Branch since 1988

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank Pallone (incumbent)	11,005	100.00%
Turnout			11,005

Republican primary

Candidates

• Ric Medrow

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ric Medrow	6,505	100.00%
Turnout			6,505

General election

Candidates

• Barry Allen (Libertarian)
• Mac Dara Lyden (Independent)
• Ric Medrow (Republican)
• Frank Pallone, incumbent Representative from Long Branch since 1988 (Democratic)
• Richard Strong (Green)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 6th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Frank Pallone Jr. (incumbent)	91,379	66.46%
	Republican	Ric Medrow	42,479	30.89%
	Green	Richard Strong	1,819	1.32%
	Libertarian	Barry Allen	1,206	0.88%
	Independent	Mac Dara Lyden	612	0.45%
Turnout			137,495
	Democratic hold

District 7

See also: New Jersey's 7th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Mike Ferguson defeated Democratic challenger Tim Cardin. Between 2003 and 2013, this district covered parts of Middlesex, Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Mike Ferguson, incumbent Representative from Union since 2001

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Ferguson (incumbent)	20,244	100.00%
Turnout			20,244

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Tim Carden
• Tyrone Cass Ross

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Carden	6,217	90.67%
	Democratic	Tyrone Cass Ross	640	9.33%
Turnout			6,857

General election

Candidates

• Tim Carden (Democratic)
• Mike Ferguson, incumbent Representative from Union since 2001 (Republican)
• Darren Young (Libertarian)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 7th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Ferguson (incumbent)	106,055	57.95%
	Democratic	Tim Carden	74,879	40.92%
	Libertarian	Darren Young	2,068	1.13%
Turnout			183,002
	Republican hold

District 8

See also: New Jersey's 8th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Bill Pascrell won. This district covers Essex and Passaic counties.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bill Pascrell, incumbent Representative from Paterson since 1997

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Pascrell (incumbent)	10,462	100.00%
Turnout			10,462

Republican primary

Candidates

• Jared Silverman

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ric Medrow	6,505	100.00%
Turnout			6,505

General election

Candidates

• Joseph Fortunato (Green)
• Bill Pascrell, incumbent Representative from Paterson since 1997 (Democratic)
• Jared Silverman (Republican)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 8th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bill Pascrell Jr. (incumbent)	88,101	66.83%
	Republican	Jared Silverman	40,318	30.59%
	Green	Joseph Fortunato	3,400	2.58%
Turnout			131,819
	Democratic hold

District 9

See also: New Jersey's 9th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Steve Rothman won. This district covers most of Bergen County.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Steve Rothman, incumbent Representative from Fair Lawn since 1997

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Rothman (incumbent)	16,362	100.00%
Turnout			16,362

Republican primary

Candidates

• Joseph Glass

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joseph Glass	7,336	100.00%
Turnout			7,336

General election

Candidates

• Joseph Glass (Republican)
• Steve Rothman, incumbent Representative from Fair Lawn since 1997 (Democratic)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 9th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Rothman (incumbent)	97,108	69.76%
	Republican	Joseph Glass	42,088	30.24%
Turnout			139,196
	Democratic hold

District 10

See also: New Jersey's 10th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Donald M. Payne won. This district covers a heavily urbanized area, which includes the city of Newark.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Edward A. Allen
• Donald M. Payne, incumbent Representative from Newark since 1989
• Edmund Proctor

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donald M. Payne (incumbent)	33,851	84.09%
	Democratic	Edward A. Allen	3,583	8.90%
	Democratic	Edmund Proctor	2,818	7.00%
Turnout			40,252

Republican primary

Candidates

• Andrew Wirtz

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Andrew Wirtz	2,005	100.00%
Turnout			2,005

General election

Candidates

• Donald M. Payne, incumbent Representative from Newark since 1989 (Democratic)
• Andrew Wirtz (Republican)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 10th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Don Payne (incumbent)	86,433	84.45%
	Republican	Andrew Wirtz	15,913	15.55%
Turnout			102,346
	Democratic hold

District 11

See also: New Jersey's 11th congressional district

Incumbent Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen won. This district covers most of Morris County.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Rodney Frelinghuysen, incumbent Representative from Harding since 1995

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rodney Frelinghuysen (incumbent)	29,691	100.00%
Turnout			19,667

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Vij Pawar

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vij Pawar	6,462	100.00%
Turnout			8,589

General election

Candidates

• Rodney Frelinghuysen, incumbent Representative from Harding since 1995 (Republican)
• Vij Pawar (Democratic)
• Richard Roth (Libertarian)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe R	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe R	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 11th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Rodney Frelinghuysen (incumbent)	132,938	72.38%
	Democratic	Vij Pawar	48,477	26.39%
	Libertarian	Richard Roth	2,263	1.23%
Turnout			183,678
	Republican hold

District 12

See also: New Jersey's 12th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Rush Holt won. This district covers 5 suburban counties in the central part of the state.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Rush Holt Jr., incumbent Representative from Pennington since 1999

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rush Holt (incumbent)	9,618	100.00%
Turnout			9,618

Republican primary

Candidates

• Deborah Jones
• DeForest Soaries, Secretary of State of New Jersey

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	DeForest Soaries	9,596	80.63%
	Republican	Deborah Jones	2,306	19.37%
Turnout			11,902

General election

Candidates

• Thomas Abrams (Libertarian)
• Rush Holt Jr., incumbent Representative from Pennington since 1999 (Democratic)
• Carl Mayer (Green)
• DeForest Soaries, Secretary of State of New Jersey (Republican)
• Karen Anne Zaletel (Independent)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 12th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rush Holt (incumbent)	104,806	61.04%
	Republican	DeForest Soaries	62,938	36.65%
	Green	Carl Mayer	1,871	1.09%
	Libertarian	Thomas Abrams	1,259	0.73%
	Independent	Karen Anne Zaletel	839	0.49%
Turnout			171,713
	Democratic hold

District 13

See also: New Jersey's 13th congressional district

Incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez won. This is a heavily urbanized district covering Hudson County.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bob Menendez, incumbent Representative from Union City since 1993

Results

2002 Democratic primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Menendez (incumbent)	37,357	100.00%
Turnout			37,357

Republican primary

Candidates

• James Geron

Results

2002 Republican primary^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Geron	3,420	100.00%
Turnout			3,420

General election

Candidates

• Pat Henry Faulkner (Independent)
• James Geron (Republican)
• Dick Hester (Independent)
• Bob Menendez, incumbent Representative from Union City since 1993 (Democratic)
• Herbert Shaw, perennial candidate (Independent)
• Esmat Zaklama (Independent)

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[2]	Safe D	November 4, 2002
New York Times[3]	Safe D	October 14, 2002

Results

New Jersey's 13th congressional district election, 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Menendez (incumbent)	72,605	78.3%
	Republican	James Geron	16,852	18.17%
	Green	Pat Henry Faulkner	1,195	1.29%
	Independent	Esmat Zaklama	774	0.83%
	Independent	Dick Hester	732	0.79%
	Independent	Herbert Shaw	573	0.62%
Turnout			92,731
	Democratic hold