New Jersey Political Structure
Elected offices, party organizations, and electoral districts
Elected Offices
Governor & Lieutenant Governor
Elected on a joint ticket. Currently Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) and Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell (D), took office Jan. 20, 2026. The Attorney General is appointed by the governor, not elected — unusual among states.
U.S. Senate & House
Two U.S. Senators — Cory Booker (D) and Andy Kim (D) — plus 12 U.S. House members, one per congressional district.
Senate & General Assembly
Bicameral: a 40-seat Senate and 80-seat General Assembly (2 per district), elected from 40 legislative districts. Senate President: Nicholas Scutari. Assembly Speaker: Craig Coughlin.
County & Municipal Officials
Each of the 21 counties elects a Board of County Commissioners, Sheriff, County Clerk, and Surrogate. Each of the 566 municipalities elects a mayor and council under a state-defined form of government.
Political Party Organizations
State Committee
Each party’s State Committee has two members (one man, one woman) elected from each of the 21 counties. It elects the state party chair and directs statewide strategy and fundraising.
County Committees
The traditional center of power in NJ politics. Members are elected at the precinct level within each county; the county chair controls endorsements, organizational support, and patronage. Until 2024, county parties controlled the “county line” — a ballot design that grouped endorsed candidates together and gave them a major primary-day advantage. A 2024 federal court ruling struck this down, so primary ballots are now organized office-by-office, reducing (but not eliminating) county chairs’ influence.
Municipal Committees
The base layer of the party structure — committeepeople elected by voting district within each town, feeding up into the county committee.
Congressional vs. Legislative Districts
District Maps
Congressional Districts (2022–2031, 12 districts)
Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
State Legislative Districts (2023–2030, 40 districts)
Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lacey Township, Ocean County
Lacey Township is one of 16 New Jersey municipalities split between two congressional districts. It sits wholly within a single legislative district.
Official Lacey Township Congressional Split Map
Source: NJ Division of Elections — shows the precise line dividing Lacey between the 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts.
NJ-2 statewide (Van Drew)
NJ-4 statewide (Smith)
Legislative District 9, highlighted
District maps: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0 / CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lacey Township Voting (Election) Districts
Below the congressional and legislative layers, Lacey Township is itself divided into 18 local election districts (EDs) — the precincts used to assign polling places. These don’t correspond to congressional or legislative lines; they’re purely local voting geography.
Live map, drawn from NJ Office of GIS election district boundaries — hover/click a district for its ED number.
