Angela V. McKnight

Angela V. McKnight (born March 10, 1977) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 31st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since she was sworn into office on January 12, 2016.

Angela V. McKnight
Member of the New Jersey Senate from the 31st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 9, 2024
Preceded by	Sandra Bolden Cunningham
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly from the 31st district
In office January 12, 2016 – January 9, 2024 Serving with Nicholas Chiaravalloti (2016–2022) William Sampson (2022–2024)
Preceded by	Charles Mainor and Jason O'Donnell
Succeeded by	Barbara McCann Stamato
Personal details
Born	(1977-03-10) March 10, 1977 (age 48)
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Jersey City
Alma mater	University of Phoenix
Website	Legislative web page

A resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, McKnight received a bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix with a major in business management. She is the founder and chief executive officer of AngelaCARES, an advocacy and support organization for senior citizens.^[1]

New Jersey General Assembly

Under the terms of a bill introduced by McKnight in the General Assembly in 2019, students would be required to demonstrate proficiency in the use of cursive handwriting, both reading and writing, by the end of the third grade. McKnight cited the bill as providing children with "a vital skill they will need for the rest of their lives", noting that without cursive skills "how will our students ever know how to read a scripted font on a word document, or even sign the back of a check".^[2]

New Jersey Senate

McKnight received the nomination for the Senate seat following the announcement that Sandra Bolden Cunningham would not run for re-election after 16 years in office.^[3] McKnight defeated Republican Luis Soto in the 2023 New Jersey Senate election.^[4][5]

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[1]

• Education
• Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
• Law and Public Safety

District 31

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.^[6] The representatives from the 31st District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:^[7]

• Senator Angela V. McKnight (D)
• Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato (D)
• Assemblyman William Sampson (D)

Electoral history

Senate

31st Legislative District General Election, 2023^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Angela V. McKnight	14,421	75.8
	Republican	Luis Soto	4,593	24.2
Total votes			19,014	100.0
	Democratic hold

General Assembly

31st legislative district general election, 2021^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Angela V. McKnight (incumbent)	26,187	38.30%
	Democratic	William Sampson	24,810	36.28%
	Republican	Rose Javier	8,817	12.89%
	Republican	Brandon Vila	8,565	12.53%
Total votes			68,379	100.0
	Democratic hold

31st Legislative District General Election, 2019^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Angela McKnight (incumbent)	18,432	43.22%
	Democratic	Nicholas Chiaravalloti (incumbent)	16,750	39.27%
	Republican	Jason Mushnick	3,792	8.89%
	Republican	Mary Kay Palange	3,674	8.61%
Total votes			33,893	100%
	Democratic hold

31st Legislative District general election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Angela V. McKnight (incumbent)	23,616	42.0	6.7
	Democratic	Nicholas Chiaravalloti (incumbent)	22,823	40.6	6.7
	Republican	Michael J. Alonso	4,994	8.9	5.3
	Republican	Lauren DiGiaro	4,766	8.5	1.1
Total votes			56,199	100.0
	Democratic hold

31st Legislative District general election^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Angela V. McKnight	9,597	35.3
	Democratic	Nicholas Chiaravalloti	9,212	33.9
	Republican	Matthew Kopko	3,872	14.2
	Republican	Herminio Mendoza	2,603	9.6
	Your Independent Leadership	Anthony Zanowic	958	3.5
	Your Independent Leadership	Alejandro Rodriguez	934	3.4
	Write-ins	Personal choice	32	0.1
Total votes			27,208	100.0
	Democratic hold