The New Jersey State Legislature
The Legislature consists of two chambers: a 40-member Senate and an 80-member General Assembly. The last election for the Senate took place on November 7, 2017. The last election for the General Assembly took place on November 5, 2019; the next will take place this year, on November 2, 2021. In order to run for the New Jersey State Legislature, a candidate must be at least 21 years of age for the General Assembly and 30 years of age for the Senate
New Jersey Demographic Background
The largest generations in New Jersey are the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation X.1 The former comprises 26% of the population and the latter 22%.2 The smallest generation is the Silent Generation, consisting of 11.50% of the population. About 56% of people in New Jersey are White, 13% are Black or African American, 20% are Hispanic or Latinx, and about 10% are Asian.3
Generational Breakdown of the New Jersey State Legislature
The average age of a New Jersey legislator is 59.34 years. The largest generation represented in the New Jersey State Legislature is the Baby Boomer Generation, comprising over 51% of the New Jersey General Assembly, and 61.5% of the New Jersey State Senate. The second largest generation is Generation X (about 31% in the legislature). The smallest generation in the State Legislature is the Silent Generation. Millennials represent 10% of all members of the New Jersey General Assembly, and 2.5% in the New Jersey State Senate. Millennials are underrepresented in the legislature. There are 4 Young Elected Leaders (YELs) age 35 or younger in New Jersey’s legislature.
Generational Composition of the New Jersey State Legislature
Generational Breakdown of the New Jersey General Assembly
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millennial Generation | 8 | 10.00 |
| Generation X | 28 | 35.00 |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 41 | 51.25 |
| Silent Generation | 3 | 3.75 |
| NA* | 0 | 0.00 |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the New Jersey General Assembly is 57.215
- The youngest members are 34 (William F. Moen Jr., Aura Kenny Dunn)
- The oldest member is 83 (Joseph V. Egan)
- 4 individuals are Young Elected Leaders
- William F. Moen Jr. (34)
- Aura Kenny Dunn (34)
- Clinton Calabrese (35)
- Britnee Timberlake (34)
Generational Breakdown of the New Jersey Senate
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millennial Generation | 1 | 2.50 |
| Generation X | 9 | 23.08 |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 24 | 61.53 |
| Silent Generation | 5 | 12.82 |
- The average age of the New Jersey Senate is 63.7
- The youngest member is 35 (Vin Gopal)
- The oldest member is 86 (Loretta L. Weinberg)
- 1 individual is a Young Elected Leader
- Vin Gopal, 35
Gender Breakdown of the New Jersey State Legislature
Women are underrepresented in the New Jersey state legislature: Roughly 33% of members in the New Jersey General Assembly and about 25.50% of members in the New Jersey State Senate are women. Female legislators are on average less than a year younger than their male colleagues.
There are two female and two male Young Elected Leaders in the New Jersey General Assembly, and one male Young Elected Leader in the New Jersey State Senate.
Gender of the New Jersey General Assembly
Gender by Generation in the New Jersey General Assembly
Gender of the New Jersey Senate
Gender by Generation in the New Jersey Senate
Ethnic Breakdown of the New Jersey State Legislature
Seventy % of members of the New Jersey General Assembly are White, followed by 17.50% being Black/African-American. In the New Jersey State Senate, this trend remains consistent, with about 75% of members being White and 12.82% being Black/African-American. About 10% of all legislators are Hispanic/Latinx. The NJ State Legislature does not reflect the ethnic diversity of its population.
Ethnicity of the New Jersey General Assembly
Ethnicity by Generation in the New Jersey General Assembly
Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in New Jersey General Assembly
Of the four Young Elected Leaders in the New Jersey General Assembly, one is Black/African-American, three are White.
Ethnicity of the New Jersey Senate
Ethnicity by Generation in the New Jersey Senate
Ethnicity of Young Elected Leaders in the New Jersey Senate
There is one Young Elected Leader in the New Jersey Senate, whose ethnicity is categorized as “other/more than one ethnicity”.
Partisan Breakdown of the New Jersey State Legislature
A majority of the New Jersey General Assembly and State Senate are Democratic. Of the five Young Elected Leaders throughout the legislature, four are Democrats, one is a Republican.
Partisanship of the New Jersey General Assembly
Partisanship by Generation in the New Jersey General Assembly
Partisanship of the New Jersey Senate
Partisanship by Generation in the New Jersey Senate
Notes
- The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
- Generation Z: 1997-2012
- Millennial Generation: 1981-1996
- Generation X: 1965-1980
- Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964
- Silent Generation: 1928-1945
2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, US Census.
3. Demographic and Housing Estimates (Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, …) 2017, US Census.
This analysis is based on data from March 2021 and was conducted on March 18, 2021.