What Went Down In The June 7 Primaries

New Jersey is one state that could offer Democrats a bit of reprieve come November, as its new map’s lines largely shored up vulnerable Democratic incumbents. But as we saw in the 2021 gubernatorial election, a lot of Democratic-leaning areas in the state could still be very competitive. Here are the seven primaries to watch tonight in New Jersey:

• 3rd District: Redistricting turned this red-tinted swing seat into a more clearly Democratic-leaning district, making Democratic Rep. Andy Kim more of a reach target for Republicans. But yacht construction company owner Bob Healey and gym owner Ian Smith are battling for the GOP nod in the hope that the Republican-leaning environment will make this seat highly competitive.

• 4th District: Redistricting shifted this seat from red to dark red, so we’re watching to see if 21-term GOP Rep. Chris Smith’s minor primary opposition draws a sizable protest vote after Smith voted for the bipartisan infrastructure package last year.

• 5th District: Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a leading moderate and fundraiser in the House, might have an easier time surviving after redistricting altered this seat from purple to light blue. But Republicans still hope to oust him, with Marine veteran Nick De Gregorio favored to win the GOP primary over former banker Frank Pallotta, Gottheimer’s 2020 Republican opponent.

• 7th District: Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski barely survived the 2020 general election and has since attracted scrutiny for failing to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars of stock transactions. Malinowski was also the one Democrat in the state who didn’t benefit from redistricting. So now former state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., a Republican and Malinowski’s 2020 opponent, is back for a rematch in this slightly GOP-leaning seat. First though, Kean must get past former evangelical pastor Phil Rizzo, a Trump acolyte running to Kean’s right in the GOP primary.

• 8th District: Democratic Rep. Albio Sires’s retirement in this deep-blue seat has led Democrats to mostly coalesce around Port Authority Commissioner Robert Menendez Jr. as Sires’s successor. There have been charges of nepotism against Menendez as he’s the son of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who represented this area before he moved up to the Senate, but those accusations don’t seem to have stuck. The younger Menendez faces only minor opposition.

• 10th District: Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. is likely to win renomination, but he does face a decently funded challenge from progressive activist Imani Oakley in the Democratic primary, so we’re curious if Oakley will make a dent in Payne’s support.
• 11th District: Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s seat also became substantially bluer, making her a reach target for the GOP. Her most likely GOP opponent is Morris County Commissioner Tayfun Selen, but Paul DeGroot, a former Passaic County assistant prosecutor, is also competing for the Republican nod.