Abraham Lincoln

New Jersey Primary June 2, 2026
Early voting: May 26-May 31
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New Jersey’s Most Competitive Primary Races

7th Congressional District
Observers consider Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. the most vulnerable of New Jersey’s three House Republicans as he runs for a third term in the 7th Congressional District, one of the state’s swingiest districts. Four Democrats are looking to take him on, with Rebecca Bennett, Michael Roth, Tina Shah, and Brian Varela meeting the filing requirements to get on June’s Democratic primary ballot.

In Kean’s district, he has faced recent criticism for his failure to stop federal authorities from buying a massive warehouse in Roxbury where they plan to open an immigrant processing and detention facility. State and local officials are suing the Trump administration to stop the facility from opening. Additionally, there has been concern about Kean’s health during a lengthy absence. He has missed more than a month’s worth of votes in Washington and has been absent from his New Jersey district as he deals with what aides have described as a personal medical issue.

Based on party endorsements and fundraising, Bennett looks like the frontrunner, Recently, five Indivisible chapters endorsed Roth. Tina Shah’s campaign to win the Democratic nomination in New Jersey’s 7th district is relying on appealing directly to the voters of the district via advertising, and she personally is making sure her campaign has the funds to make it happen.. Make the Road Action NJ, an immigrant rights group that recently endorsed Brian Varela.

The district covers all of Hunterdon and Warren counties, along with portions of Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties.

12th Congressional District
The most crowded contest is in Central Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, which covers parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties. There, 13 Democrats are vying for their party’s nomination in the race to replace Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a six-term Democrat who is retiring.Who will win the Democratic primary in Watson-Coleman’s district remains wholly unpredictable, because establishment support has split so much that outsiders have a real chance of winning — much like what happened in last month’s special Democratic primary for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s old House seat.

The Democrats running there are: Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson; East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen; Squire Servance, a patent and life sciences attorney; Samuel Wang, a neuroscientist and Princeton University professor; Sue Altman, former head of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance who was Sen. Andy Kim’s state director until January; technology consultant Sujit Singh; Plainfield Mayor Adrian O. Mapp; plastic surgeon Adam Hamawy; Trenton entrepreneur Elijah Dixon; Kyle Little, who owns a fitness business; Jay Vaingankar, an energy adviser in the Biden White House; Matt Adams, a former Middlesex councilman and retired U.S. Army Reserves lieutenant colonel; and Shanel Robinson, a Somerset County commissioner.

A packed crowd turned out for the first forum. Candidates responded to four questions covering environmental policy, checks and balances in government, Social Security, and healthcare. Despite differences in approach, there was broad agreement among the candidates that the current political environment — including concerns about executive power, economic pressures, and global conflict — requires a more assertive role for Congress.

Who’s the favorite to win? Reynolds-Jackson, Cohen, Robinson, and Mapp all have support in their home turf, but other candidates like Altman, Hamawy, and Vaingankar have viable paths to the nomination that don’t rely on party endorsements. In other words, it’s anyone’s game for now.

The other contested primaries in New Jersey include:

2nd Congressional District
The 2nd Congressional District is among South Jersey’s most closely watched races. Four Democrats want to challenge Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, the Republican incumbent looking to land a fifth term representing South Jersey’s 2nd District. They are: Tim Alexander, a civil rights attorney and former detective in the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office; Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock; Terri Reese, a former retail manager; and Bayly Winder, who has worked in foreign affairs, national security, and crisis management.

Voters point to the rising cost of housing, utility bills and food, alongside broader concerns about wages and economic stability. Health care access and prescription drug prices remain top issues, particularly for older residents. Economic development is another dividing line, with candidates debating whether growth should be driven by federal investment or small business expansion.
Environmental concerns, including coastal protection, offshore wind and land use, are also central in a district shaped by tourism, agriculture and shoreline communities.

4th Congressional District
Two Democrats will square off in the primary to take on GOP incumbent Rep. Chris Smith in the Jersey Shore’s 4th District. They are: electrician John Blake and Rachel Peace, a single mom and environmental advocate. The 4th Congressional District stretches from coastal towns like Belmar and Point Pleasant Beach to inland communities, including Freehold Township, Jackson and Toms River. It reflects a mix of tourism economies, suburban expansion and year-round residents grappling with rising costs.

8th Congressional District
Incumbent Rep. Rob Menendez will face one Democratic challenger, Mussab Ali, in the primary. Menendez now leads but could be vulnerable according to an internal poll by the Ali campaign. It found that 8th district voters disapprove of AIPAC, support Medicare for All. The 8th covers portions of Essex, Hudson, and Union counties, including urban centers like Jersey City, Elizabeth, Hoboken, and Union City.

11th Congressional District
Analilia Mejia won the Special Election for the seat vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill after Sherrill won the governorship in November, until Jan. 3, 2027. Three Democrats will challenge Mejia in June’s Democratic primary in the 11th District, which includes towns in Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties. Mejia’s Democratic challengers in June’s primary are: software engineer Joseph Lewis; Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland; and former Morristown mayor Donald Cresitello.

New York State Assembly and State Senator Primaries

Why are state elections important?

Democrats are trouncing Republicans in state elections since Trump took office. Voter turnout in state elections over the last 14 months has Republicans concerned as the midterms approach.The results of these state-level elections reflect the immediate concerns of the electorate, provide a launching pad for the next generation of national leaders and could influence the future makeup of Congress through redistricting. They may also give both Republicans and Democrats a preview of the midterm battles to come.

63 New York State Senators and 150 New York Assembly Members are up for re-election .

Confirm your New York State Senate Senator and District, in addition to your New York State Assembly Member and District. Find out if your representative is being challenged in the upcoming Primary.

Competitive State Senate Primary Races

State Senate District 12
Two Democrat Socialists are competing for state Senate District 12, currently represented by the retiring Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris. Two term Assembly Member Steven Raga will be running against Aber Kawas a Palestinian American activist who already has the support of the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York City chapter.

State Senate District 12 covers parts of Northwest Queens in New York City, including Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, and portions of Woodside, Maspeth, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven

State Senate District 13
Incumbent State Senator Jessica Ramos is facing a challenge from Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, The powerful health care workers union, 1199SEIU, already backed González-Rojas, a rare early endorsement against an incumbent in a contested primary. Additionally, Ramos has made no secret of her criticisms of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his increasingly powerful wing of the party, and the Queens Democratic Party recently voted against carrying petitions for Ramos this cycle.

State Senate District 13 includes Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, and parts of Astoria and Woodside. It is a densely populated urban district in New York City with a high percentage of Hispanic and immigrant residents

State Senate District 25
Incumbent State Senator Jabari Brisport is a third-generation Caribbean-American Brooklynite and former public school teacher. He has prioritized child care policy as chair of the state Senate Committee on Children and Families and was chastised by Governor Hochul after he supported Delgado for governor.

Senator Brisport is being challenged by Marion Rice. He proposes a temporary freeze on property taxes and an extension on income based utility bill caps.

State Senate District 25 covers central and eastern Brooklyn. It includes neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Ocean Hill, and portions of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Brownsville

Competitive State Assembly Primary Races

Assembly District 30
A former NYPD detective, Shamsul Haque, is running for Assembly District 30. It is district in Queens that includes Woodside, Elmhurst and Maspeth. The district is currently represented by Assembly Member Steven Raga, who is now running for state Senate, freeing up the seat. Haque will not be running unopposed. Somnath Ghimire, a Nepali American community leader, has also filed to run in the Democratic primary.

Assembly District 37
Assembly Member Claire Valdez vacated her seat to run for U.S.7th Congressional District seat.
Samantha Kattan, a tenant organizer backed by Valdez and the DSA, has launched a campaign to succeed Valdez in the district, which includes parts of Long Island City, Sunnyside and Ridgewood. Kattan has made immigration reform central to her campaign. She said passing New York for All, which would prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, would be her first priority if she is elected to office.

Pia Rahman, a community organizer and healthcare worker launched her campaign touting a progressive platform centered on housing stability, climate resilience and safe streets.Born in New York to immigrant parents from Bangladesh, Rahman has also made reliable healthcare, “fair tax” and investments in public transportation central to her campaign.

Assembly District 38
Incumbent Assembly Member Jennifer Rajkumar’s race may test whether this community’s support of Mr. Mamdani was rooted more in identity or ideology.Ms. Rajkumar is running on more than her identity. She came to office after serving as the state’s first director of immigration affairs under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, where she created a $31 million fund to provide legal services for immigrants. Yet the same progressive South Asian networks that helped elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor in New York are mobilizing against her.

Her Democratic primary opponent, David Orkin, is a democratic socialist who is courting the mayor’s supporters, The June primary contest has grown fractious, with each candidate accusing the other of election fraud and Mr. Orkin recently suing to kick Ms. Rajkumar off the ballot. The primary may also be a measure of the Democratic Socialists of America’s growing momentum in New York.

New York State Assembly District 38 covers several neighborhoods in South Queens, including Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven.

Assembly District 52

Incumbent State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon is being challenged by Lydia Green.

Jo Anne Simon has served her district since 2015. She secured widespread endorsements for her NY Assembly re-election including major support from the Working Families Party, New York State United Teachers, and various LGBTQ+ groups. Key backers include Attorney General Letitia James, New York State Andrew Gounardes, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez NYS Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, numerous NYC Council members, and labor unions like 1199 SEIU.

Green previously worked as a staffer on eight progressive campaigns, ranging from City Council to Congress. Her own candidacy comes at an inflection point for New York politics, as a new guard of young leftists seeks oust older, often more centrist leaders.Green is reaching the end of her two-year term as District Leader, an unpaid but elected position within the Democratic Party that focuses on grassroots outreach.

The district is situated in parts of Brooklyn including Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Park Slope (portions), Carroll Gardens, Columbia Street Waterfront District (portion), Cobble Hill, Gowanus and Dumbo.

Assembly District 56

Incumbent Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman is being challenged by Eon Huntley. The district primarily includes the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights.

Democratic socialist Eon Huntley is taking another swing at ousting Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman from her Bedford-Stuyvesant seat. Zinerman is arguably one of the most vulnerable incumbents heading into this June’s primaries, particularly in light of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s strong performance in the district last year and renewed calls from City Council Member Chi Ossé for a Zinerman challenger. Huntley is a retail worker and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which is backing his primary challenge . He also has the support of City Council Member Chi Ossé and state Sen. Jabari Brisport.

Assembly District 68
Former New York City Council Member Diana Ayala has filed to run for Assembly District 68 in East Harlem. She’s challenging Assembly Member Eddie Gibbs, who has stirred controversy on more than one occasion since taking office. It is located in Manhattan and primarily covers East Harlem, Randall’s Island, and parts of the Upper East Side and Central Harlem

Assembly District 69
Eli Northrup, the policy director for the Bronx Defenders’ criminal defense practice, is running for the Upper West Side seat being vacated by Assembly Member Micah Lasher, who is now running for Congress. The Assembly district includesthe Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, and parts of West Harlem. He’s already racked up endorsements from a variety of progressive organizations and elected officials, including the New York Working Families Party, state Sens. Gustavo Rivera and Jabari Brisport, in addition to a multitude of Assembly Members.

Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, an associate dean at the Jewish Theological Seminary, is also running and has been endorsed by City Council Member Shaun Abreu and former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger.

What you can do

Focus on the primary races where you live. Donate to individual campaigns(no amount is too small) Volunteer. Become involved. Make this your Democratic Party by supporting candidates who represent your views. Become informed. Sign petitions. Attend town halls and rallies. Ask questions. Listen and support. Volunteer on a campaign and be willing to support by canvassing, phone banking, writing letters to the editor, setting up lawn signs and setting up rallies or town halls.

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