The2020 United States Senate election in New Jersey was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of theUnited States Senate to represent theState of New Jersey . It was held concurrently with the2020 United States presidential election , as well asvarious other elections . The primary elections were moved from June 2, 2020, to July 7, 2020, due toCOVID-19 pandemic concerns. Incumbent Senator Cory Booker was first elected in a2013 special election to complete the term of fellow DemocratFrank Lautenberg , who died in office.[ 2]
Booker won a second full term againstRepublican Rik Mehta, narrowly winningMorris County , which no Democratic Senate candidate had carried since1984 when SenatorBill Bradley swept every county. He also flipped Somerset County, which last voted for a Democrat for this seat in 1984. Booker also received the most votes (2,541,239) in a statewide non-presidential election in New Jersey history.
Eliminated in primary [ edit ] Cory Booker
State officials
Annette Chaparro , assemblywoman,District 33 [ 11] Nicholas Chiaravalloti ,assemblyman ,District 31 [ 11] Sandra Bolden Cunningham , state senator, District 31[ 11] Angelica M. Jimenez , assemblywoman,District 32 [ 11] Angela McKnight , assemblywoman, District 31[ 11] Pedro Mejia , assemblyman, District 32Raj Mukherji , assemblyman, District 33[ 11] Nicholas Sacco , state senator, District 32, Mayor ofNorth Bergen , former assistant superintendent ofNorth Bergen School District [ 11] Brian P. Stack , state senator, District 33, Mayor of Union City[ 11] Local officials
Ravi Bhalla , mayor ofHoboken [ 11] Diane Coleman, Hudson County Register[ 11] Jimmy Davis, mayor ofBayonne [ 11] Tom DeGise,Hudson County Executive [ 11] James Fife, mayor ofHarrison [ 11] Steve Fulop , mayor ofJersey City [ 11] Mike Gonnelli, mayor ofSecaucus [ 11] Dina Grilo, mayor ofEast Newark [ 11] E. Junior Maldonado, Hudson County Clerk[ 11] Gabe Rodriguez , mayor ofWest New York [ 11] Al Santos, mayor ofKearny [ 11] Frank X. Schillari, Hudson County Sheriff[ 11] Richard Turner, mayor ofWeehawken [ 11] Wayne Zitt, mayor ofGuttenberg [ 11] Organizations
Results by county: Booker—>90%
Booker—80-90%
Booker—70-80%
Rikin "Rik" Mehta, pharmaceutical executive and attorney[ 27] Eliminated in primary [ edit ] Matt Rooney, attorney and political pundit[ 39] Rik Mehta
Former state officials
County Republican Party organizations
Hirsh Singh
County Republican Party organizations
Results by county: 60–70%
50–60%
40–50%
<40%
Madelyn R. Hoffman
Elected officials
Corey Teague, member of the Paterson Board of Education[ 46] Individuals
Ajamu Baraka , peace activist, 2016 Green Party vice presidential nominee[ 46] Anthony Díaz, co-founder of the Newark Water Coalition; Democratic primary candidate for Essex County Freeholder[ 46] Margaret Flowers , peace activist, former co-chair of the Green Party[ 46] Howie Hawkins , activist, 2020 Green Party presidential nominee[ 46] Aissa Heath, Democratic primary candidate for Union County Freeholder[ 46] Chris Hedges , journalist[ 46] Kevin Hernández, Democratic primary candidate for Hudson County Freeholder District 6[ 46] Peter Jacob, social worker, Democratic candidate for Congress inNew Jersey's 7th congressional district , 2016 and 2018[ 46] Seth Kaper-Dale , pastor, activist, 2017 Green Party gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey[ 46] Margaret Kimberley, activist, author, New York Green Party member[ 46] Kason Little, social justice activist; Democratic primary candidate, Elizabeth City Council At-Large[ 46] Lisa Savage, teacher, activist, Independent candidate for US Senate, Maine[ 46] David Schraeger, peace activist[ 46] Josh Shapiro, hub coordinator,Sunrise Montclair[ 46] Cindy Sheehan , peace activist[ 46] Jill Stein , physician, activist, and 2012 and 2016 Green Party presidential nominee[ 46] Herb Tarbous, Democratic primary candidate for Middlesex County Clerk[ 46] Bob Witanek, peace activist[ 46] Stef Zamorano, co-producer,TheJimmy Dore Show [ 46] Radio
89.1 FM WHAR - Free Radio for the Free Thinker[ 46] Organizations
Black Alliance for Peace[ 46] Cats of Eastwick[ 46] Green Party of Monmouth County[ 46] Green Party of Ocean County[ 46] Green Party US Latinx Caucus[ 46] Young Ecosocialists Caucus - NJ[ 46] Additional general election endorsements [ edit ] Cory Booker (D)
Senators
Local officials
Amy DeGise, Hudson County Democratic Organization Chairwoman[ 11] Organizations
Unions
Hypothetical polling
with Hirsh Singh
Poll source Date(s) Sample[ b] Margin Cory Hirsh Other / Monmouth University [ 68] April 16–19, 2020 635 (RV) ± 3.9% 58% 33% 9%[ h]
on whether or not respondents would vote to reelect Cory Booker
Poll source Date(s) Sample[ b] Margin Yes No Undecided Quinnipiac [ 69] April 30 – May 4, 2020 941 (RV) ± 3.2% 53% 36% 11%
The election was not close, with Booker winning re-election by 16.31%. Key to Booker's landslide victory were heavily populated areas such asHackensack ,Newark , andTrenton . Mehta did well inOcean County , which is a Republican stronghold, as well as many rural areas of the state. Booker received 2,541,239 votes. Booker was sworn in for a second term on January 3, 2021. His term will expire on January 3, 2027.
County[ 70] Cory Booker Rikin Mehta Various candidates Margin Total votes cast # % # % # % # % Atlantic 71,420 52.64% 61,568 45.38% 2,690 1.98% 9,852 7.26% 135,678 Bergen 280,054 57.94% 195,193 40.38% 8,103 1.68% 84,861 17.56% 483,350 Burlington 150,160 58.76% 102,136 39.97% 3,250 1.27% 48,024 18.79% 255,546 Camden 173,335 66.30% 85,406 32.67% 2,700 1.03% 87,929 33.63% 261,441 Cape May 22,952 41.57% 31,317 56.72% 945 1.71% -8,365 -15.15% 55,214 Cumberland 31,992 52.69% 26,626 43.85% 2,102 3.46% 5,366 8.84% 60,720 Essex 260,604 77.78% 69,750 20.82% 4,715 1.41% 190,854 56.96% 335,069 Gloucester 85,489 50.31% 80,943 47.64% 3,487 2.05% 4,546 2.68% 169,919 Hudson 176,658 73.57% 56,917 23.70% 6,538 2.72% 119,741 49.87% 240,113 Hunterdon 36,728 44.40% 43,951 53.13% 2,041 2.47% -7,223 -8.73% 82,720 Mercer 117,821 68.26% 52,248 30.27% 2,527 1.46% 65,573 37.99% 172,596 Middlesex 221,802 60.61% 135,398 37.00% 8,727 2.38% 86,404 23.61% 365,927 Monmouth 173,609 46.62% 191,700 51.48% 7,045 1.89% -18,091 -4.86% 372,354 Morris 146,148 50.23% 141,373 48.59% 3,453 1.19% 4,775 1.64% 290,974 Ocean 116,036 35.24% 207,751 63.09% 5,501 1.67% -91,715 -27.85% 329,288 Passaic 131,195 60.01% 80,827 36.97% 6,593 3.02% 50,368 23.04% 218,615 Salem 14,515 43.28% 17,910 53.41% 1,111 3.31% -3,395 -10.12% 33,536 Somerset 105,681 57.49% 75,622 41.14% 2,520 1.37% 30,059 16.35% 183,823 Sussex 33,919 39.29% 49,885 57.78% 2,525 2.92% -15,966 -18.49% 86,329 Union 166,997 67.42% 76,677 30.96% 4,014 1.62% 90,320 36.47% 247,688 Warren 24,124 40.45% 33,893 56.83% 1,623 2.72% -9,769 -16.38% 59,640 Totals 2,541,239 57.23% 1,817,091 40.92% 82,210 1.85% 724,148 16.31% 4,440,540
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Shift by county Trend by county Republican — >15%
Republican — +12.5−15%
Republican — +10−12.5%
Republican — +7.5−10%
Republican — +5−7.5%
Republican — +2.5−5%
Republican — +0−2.5%
Democratic — +0−2.5%
Democratic — +2.5−5%
Democratic — +5−7.5%
Democratic — +7.5-10%
Democratic — +10−12.5%
Democratic — +12.5−15%
Democratic — >15%
County flipsDemocratic
Hold
Gain from Republican
Republican
Hold
Gain from Democratic
By congressional district [ edit ] Booker won nine out of 12 congressional districts in New Jersey, and Mehta won the other three, including one that elected a Democrat.[ 71]
^ General election write-in candidates have no barriers to, or deadlines for, qualification in New Jersey. ^a b c Key: ^ "Someone else" with 2%; Undecided with 11% ^ "Someone else" and "Neither" with 2%; would not vote with 1%; Undecided with 4% ^ "Other" with 7%; Undecided with 3% ^ "Someone else" with 5%; Undecided with 16% ^ "Other" with 1%; "No one" with 0%; Undecided with 10% ^ "Other" and "No one" with 0%; Undecided with 9% General
^ "General Election Data - 1924 to 2022" (PDF) .NJ.gov .^ Titus, Elizabeth (October 16, 2013)."Booker wins New Jersey Senate seat" .POLITICO . RetrievedSeptember 10, 2023 . ^ Kelsey, Adam; Harper, Averi (January 13, 2020)."Sen. Cory Booker suspends presidential campaign" .ABC News . RetrievedJanuary 13, 2020 . ^ Akinyele, Bashir Muhammad (December 21, 2019)."Larry Hamm for United States Senate" .Patch . RetrievedMarch 2, 2020 . ^ "FEC For 2: Statement of Candidacy" (PDF) .FEC.gov . December 12, 2018.^ "NAIK, HARSH VASANT MR" .FEC.gov . October 18, 2018.^a b Wildstein, David (March 26, 2018)."If Booker or Murphy run in 2020 - New Jersey Globe" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedJune 18, 2018 . ^ Biryukov, Nikita (September 2, 2019)."Gottheimer declines to say which Republican he'd like to face in 2020" . RetrievedSeptember 28, 2019 . ^ "INSIDERNJ's 2020 Congressional Sketch Pad: A Thumbnail Guide to All Developing Contests" . August 9, 2019. RetrievedAugust 23, 2019 .^ "INSIDERNJ's 2020 Congressional Sketch Pad: A Thumbnail Guide to All Developing Contests" . August 9, 2019. RetrievedAugust 23, 2019 .^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "HCDO, Hudson Mayors All in for Joe Biden and Entire Column B Team in July Primary" .www.insidernj.com . June 25, 2020.^ Brown, Kris (February 24, 2020)."Brady Endorses Sen. Cory Booker (NJ) for Re-Election" .Brady . ^ "Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Endorses Gun Violence Survivors, Speaker Pelosi, Congressional Allies" .Coalition to Stop Gun Violence . March 23, 2020. Archived fromthe original on June 11, 2020. RetrievedJune 11, 2020 .^ Muller, Tiffany (January 21, 2020)."End Citizens United Endorses 39 Candidates 10 Years After Citizens United Decision" .End Citizens United . ^ "Giffords Endorses Slate of Senators Running to Bring a Gun Safety Majority to the US Senate" .Giffords ^ Society, Humane."2020 Endorsements" .Humane Society Legislative Fund . ^ Connnon, Courtnee (May 19, 2020)."LCV Action Fund Endorses Senator Cory Booker for Re-election" .League of Conservation Voters ^ "NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses Cory Booker for Re-Election to U.S. Senate" .NARAL Pro-Choice America . January 31, 2020.^ "2020 Federal Endorsements - NOW PAC" .nowpac.org .^ "Six Environmental Champions Win NRDC Action Fund Endorsements" .www.nrdcactionfund.org . May 18, 2020.^ "2020 Endorsements" .plannedparenthoodaction.org . Archived fromthe original on April 12, 2020. RetrievedApril 18, 2020 .^ "Sierra Club #ClimateVoter Guide: Endorsements" .Sierra Club . July 16, 2012.^ "Cornel West endorses Lawrence Hamm for U.S. Senate" .New Jersey Globe . May 27, 2020. RetrievedMay 27, 2020 .^ Hudson County DSA [@HudCoDSA] (June 22, 2020)."Hudson County DSA on Twitter: The Hudson County Branch is pleased to announce that we endorse @HammForSenate for US Senate, @Oseguera2020 for US House NJ-08 and @EleanaLittle for District 4 Freeholder!" (Tweet ). RetrievedJune 7, 2021 – viaTwitter . ^ Progressive Democrats of America."2020 Endorsements" . Archived fromthe original on May 20, 2020. RetrievedJuly 3, 2020 – via PDAmerica. ^a b "2020-official-primary-results-us-senate.pdf" (PDF) .New Jersey Department of Elections . August 9, 2020. RetrievedAugust 9, 2020 .^ Biryukov, Nikita (October 17, 2019)."Morris lawyer announces U.S. Senate bid" . New Jersey Globe. RetrievedOctober 17, 2019 . ^ Biryukov, Nikita (March 30, 2020)."Former teacher launches surprise U.S. Senate bid" .New Jersey Globe . ^ Biryukov, Nikita (April 26, 2019)."Tricia Flanagan seeking GOP nod against Booker" . New Jersey Globe. RetrievedApril 29, 2019 . ^ Wildstein, David (April 25, 2019)."Natalie Lynn Rivera will challenge Cory Booker" .New Jersey Globe . Sea of Reeds Media. RetrievedOctober 18, 2019 . ^ Wildstein, David (April 24, 2019)."Hirsh Singh will challenge Cory Booker for U.S. Senate" . New Jersey Globe. RetrievedApril 24, 2019 . ^a b c d "New Jersey Senate 2020 Race" .Open Secrets . RetrievedMay 15, 2020 .^ "13 changes to the candidate list" .The Green Papers . February 14, 2020. RetrievedMay 15, 2020 .^ Wildstein, David (August 22, 2019)."Republican Stuart Meissner considers bid for U.S. Senate against Booker" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedAugust 23, 2019 . ^ Avila, Joseph De (September 23, 2019)."Former Prosecutor Launches Bid for Cory Booker's Senate Seat" .The Wall Street Journal . RetrievedSeptember 24, 2019 . ^ "Meissner to drop U.S. Senate bid against Booker" .New Jersey Globe . February 11, 2020.^ Rich, Gary (January 25, 2020)."Statement from Republican US Senate Candidate Gary Rich" .InsiderNJ . RetrievedJanuary 26, 2020 . ^ Wildstein, David (February 4, 2020)."Report: Gary Rich drops U.S. Senate bid" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedFebruary 4, 2020 . ^ Wildstein, David (January 22, 2019)."What about Matt Rooney as Booker foe?" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedAugust 23, 2019 . ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Governor Chris Christie Endorses Rik Mehta for U.S Senate" .Insider NJ . June 9, 2020. RetrievedJune 15, 2020 .^ "Hunterdon County Officials Unanimously Endorse Rik Mehta for U.S Senate (press release)" .Insider NJ . June 2, 2020. RetrievedJune 15, 2020 .^ "Union County Republican Mayors Endorse Rik Mehta for U.S Senate (press release)" .Insider NJ . June 5, 2020. RetrievedJune 15, 2020 .^ Wildstein, David (June 9, 2020)."Christie endorses Mehta for U.S. Senate" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedJune 15, 2020 . ^a b Wildstein, David (March 12, 2020)."Singh wins Cape May GOP line" .New Jersey Globe . RetrievedJune 15, 2020 . ^ "Green Party Leader Madelyn Hoffman will run for the US Senate in 2020, hoping to unseat Cory Booker, who will be running for reelection" .Insider NJ . June 19, 2019. RetrievedApril 25, 2020 .^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Endorsements and Pledges" . Archived fromthe original on August 17, 2020. RetrievedSeptember 17, 2020 .^ "New Jersey - Senate" .FEC . RetrievedMay 17, 2020 .^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020" .The Cook Political Report . RetrievedMarch 11, 2021 .^ "2020 Senate Ratings" .Senate Ratings . The Rothenberg Political Report. RetrievedMarch 11, 2021 .^ "2020 Senate race ratings" .Sabato's Crystal Ball . RetrievedMarch 12, 2021 .^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings" .Daily Kos Elections . RetrievedMarch 13, 2021 .^ "2020 Election Forecast" .Politico . November 19, 2019.^ "Battle for the Senate 2020" .RCP . October 23, 2020.^ "2020 Senate Elections Model" .Decision Desk HQ . September 2, 2020. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2020 .^ Silver, Nate (September 18, 2020)."Forecasting the race for the Senate" .FiveThirtyEight the original on September 18, 2020. RetrievedSeptember 18, 2020 . ^ "Forecasting the US elections" . The Economist. November 2, 2020. RetrievedMarch 13, 2021 .^ "Endorsements | Warren Democrats" .elizabethwarren.com . Archived fromthe original on January 7, 2021. RetrievedNovember 1, 2020 .^ "2020 Endorsements" .^ "Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund Endorses Senator Cory Booker for U.S. Senate" .Everytown . June 30, 2020.^ "Our 2020 Endorsements" .Working Families Party .^ "NJ's Largest Health Care Union Releases List of 2020 Endorsed Candidates" . July 7, 2020.^ "U.S. Senate - Education Votes" .educationvotes.nea.org .^ Research Co. ^ Swayable ^ Rutgers University ^ Stockton University ^ Emerson College ^a b Monmouth University ^ Quinnipiac ^a b Way, Tahesha (October 14, 2021)."Official General Election Results: U.S. Senate" (PDF) .Secretary of State of New Jersey Archived (PDF) from the original on November 12, 2025. RetrievedDecember 30, 2025 .^ "Dra 2020" .Specific
Official campaign websites
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