| State: | New Jersey |
| District Number: | 5 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Josh Gottheimer |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Wyckoff |
| Percent Urban: | 86.98 |
| Percent Rural: | 13.02 |
| Population: | 774,198 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $124,761[1] |
| Percent White: | 59.2 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 16.2 |
| Percent Black: | 5.2 |
| Percent Asian: | 15.9 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 2.8 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.7 |
| Cpvi: | D+4[2] |
New Jersey's 5th congressional district is represented by Democrat Josh Gottheimer, who has served in Congress since 2017. The district stretches across the entire northern border of the state and contains most of Bergen County, as well as parts of Passaic County and Sussex County.
Historically, most of the areas in the district have generally been favorable for Republicans. This is especially true of the western portion, which contains some of the most Republican areas in the Northeast. However, Bergen County has trended Democratic in recent elections, though not as overwhelmingly as in the more urbanized southern portion of Bergen County, this latter portion being in the ninth congressional district. Partly due to a strong performance in Bergen County, Josh Gottheimer unseated 14-year Republican incumbent Scott Garrett in 2016. This made Garrett the only one of the state's 12 incumbents to lose reelection that year and marked the first time a Democrat won this seat since 1930.[3]
Since redistricting in the early 1990s, this congressional district has been L-shaped, comprising the rural northern and western parts of New Jersey along with parts of Passaic and Bergen County. After redistricting in late 2021, which was based on the 2020 census, the 5th lost all of its towns in Warren County. It also contains less of Sussex County and includes more of eastern Bergen County than was the case during the 2010s, making the district somewhat more Democratic.[4]
For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 United States census), the district contains all or portions of three counties and 65 municipalities.[5]
| Year | Office | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | President | Clinton 52.2% - 44.5% | |
| 2017 | Governor | Murphy 53.4% - 44.6% | |
| 2018 | Senator | Menendez 51.5% - 44.5% | |
| 2020 | President | Biden 55.6% - 43.2% | |
| 2020 | Senator | Booker 55.4% - 42.8% | |
| 2021 | Governor | Murphy 50.1% - 49.2% |
| Year | Office | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Bush 52 - 45% | |
| 2004 | President | Bush 57 - 43% | |
| 2008 | President | McCain 54 - 45% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 51 - 48% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 49 - 48% | |
| 2017 | Governor | Murphy 48.2 - 48.1% | |
| 2020 | President | Biden 51 - 46% | |
| 2020 | Senate | Booker 51.7% - 46.5% | |
| 2021 | Governor | Ciattarelli 53.2 - 45.9% |
District organized from New Jersey's at-large congressional district.
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | Counties/Towns | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established March 4, 1799 | ||||||||
| align=left | Franklin Davenport | Federalist | nowrap | March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1801 | Elected in 1798. Redistricted to the and lost re-election. | Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem | ||
| District dissolved March 3, 1801 | ||||||||
| District re-established March 4, 1843 | ||||||||
| align=left | William Wright | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847 | Elected in 1842. Re-elected in 1844. Retired to run for governor. | Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic | ||
| align=left | Dudley S. Gregory | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849 | Elected in 1846. Retired. | |||
| align=left | James G. King | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851 | Elected in 1848. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Rodman M. Price | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853 | Elected in 1850. Lost re-election. | |||
| nowrap rowspan=2 align=left | Alexander C. M. Pennington | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Retired. | 1853–1863 Essex and Hudson | ||
| Opposition | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857 | ||||||
| align=left | Jacob R. Wortendyke | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859 | Elected in 1856. Lost re-election. | Essex, Hudson, and Union (Union County formed from Essex (1857)) | ||
| align=left | William Pennington | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 | Elected in 1858. Lost re-election. | |||
Nehemiah Perry | Democratic | March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865 | Elected in 1860. Re-elected in 1862. Retired. | |||||
| 1863–1873 Hudson County and Newark | ||||||||
| align=left | Edwin R.V. Wright | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867 | Elected in 1864. Retired. | |||
| align=left | George A. Halsey | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869 | Elected in 1866. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Orestes Cleveland | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871 | Elected in 1868. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | George A. Halsey | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873 | Elected in 1870. Retired. | |||
| align=left | William W. Phelps | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 | Elected in 1872. Lost re-election. | Bergen, Morris, and Passaic | ||
| align=left | Augustus W. Cutler | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879 | Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Charles H. Voorhis | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881 | Elected in 1878. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John Hill | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1880. Retired. | |||
| align=left | William W. Phelps | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889 | Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Charles D. Beckwith | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1888. Lost re-election. | |||
Cornelius A. Cadmus | Democratic | nowrap rowspan=2 | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Retired. | ||||
| Bergen and Passaic | ||||||||
| align=left | James F. Stewart | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1903 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Charles N. Fowler | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1911 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | Morris, Union, and Warren | ||
William E. Tuttle Jr. | Democratic | nowrap rowspan=2 | March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1915 | Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Lost re-election. | ||||
| Morris and Union | ||||||||
| align=left | John H. Capstick | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1915 – March 17, 1918 | Elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Died. | |||
| nowrap colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | March 17, 1918 – November 5, 1918 | |||||
| align=left | William F. Birch | Republican | nowrap | November 5, 1918 – March 3, 1919 | Elected to finish Capstick's term. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Ernest R. Ackerman | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1919 – October 18, 1931 | Elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Died. | |||
| nowrap colspan=2 | Vacant | nowrap | October 18, 1931 – December 1, 1931 | |||||
| align=left | Percy Hamilton Stewart | Democratic | nowrap | December 1, 1931 – March 3, 1933 | Elected to finish Ackerman's term. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
| align=left | Charles A. Eaton | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1953 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Retired. | Morris, Somerset, and part of Middlesex (north of Raritan River) | ||
Peter Frelinghuysen Jr. | Republican | nowrap rowspan=3 | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1975 | Elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Retired. | ||||
| Morris and Somerset (Northern Middlesex removed to the new 15th District (1962)) | ||||||||
| District no longer follows county lines | ||||||||
| align=left | Millicent Fenwick | Republican | nowrap | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1983 | Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Redistricted to the 12th district and retired to run for U.S. Senator. | Somerset, parts of Morris, and parts of Mercer (Princeton, Princeton Borough and West Windsor) | ||
Marge Roukema | Republican | nowrap rowspan=3 | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2003 | Redistricted from 7th district and re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired. | Parts of Bergen, Hunterdon, Mercer (Hopewell, Hopewell Borough, and Pennington), Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren | |||
| Sussex (excluding Byram and Green) and northern parts of Bergen and Passaic | ||||||||
Scott Garrett | Republican | nowrap rowspan=2 | January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2017 | Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Lost re-election. | 2003–2013: Warren, parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex | |||
| 2013–2023: Parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex, and Warren | ||||||||
Josh Gottheimer | Democratic | January 3, 2017 – present | Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–present: Parts of Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex | ||||||||