26th Legislative District (New Jersey)

Demographic characteristics

As of the 2010 Census, the district had a population of 217,839, of whom 168,967 (77.6%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 178,956 (82.2%) White, 4,223 (1.9%) African American, 377 (0.2%) Native American, 26,695 (12.3%) Asian, 25 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 3,563 (1.6%) from some other race, and 4,000 (1.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14,606 (6.7%) of the population. The 26th District had 158,246 registered voters as of December 31, 2016, of whom 65,861 (41.6%) were registered as unaffiliated, 54,084 (34.2%) were registered as Republicans, 37,831 (23.9%) were registered as Democrats, and 470 (0.3%) were registered to other parties.

The Asian population was above the state average, while there were relatively few African American and Hispanic residents in the district. The percentage of children receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families was the fourth lowest of any district and the percentage of the population age 65 and over was eighth highest. The district had one of the lowest percentages in the state of registered Democrats, with Republicans outnumbering Democrats by a more than 2–1 margin.

Apportionment history

The 26th District when it was created in 1973 along with the 40-district legislative map was based in the urban area around The Oranges, specifically West Orange, Orange, East Orange, and a small sliver of the North Ward of Newark. In the 1981 redistricting, the district moved out of Essex County and was routed along the eastern border Morris County from Chatham Township to Kinnelon including Parsippany-Troy Hills and Morris Plains and northern Passaic County's West Milford and Ringwood. Following the 1991 redistricting, Chatham Township was removed but Madison and Mountain Lakes were added in Morris County; in Passaic County however, West Milford and Ringwood were shifted to the 40th District, Bloomingdale and Pompton Lakes instead made up the Passaic portion of the district during this decade. West Caldwell, Caldwell, and Fairfield Township in Essex Count were now included within the district.

Changes to the district made in the 2001 legislative apportionment based on the results of the 2000 United States Census added Hanover Township (from the District 25) and West Milford Township (from District 40) and removed Madison Borough (to the District 21), Mountain Lakes (to District 25) and Fairfield Township and West Caldwell Township (to District 27). Changes to the district made as part of the 2011 apportionment include the addition of Fairfield Township (from District 27), Jefferson Township (from District 25), North Caldwell Borough (from District 27), Rockaway Township (from District 25), Verona Township (from District 40) and West Caldwell Township (from District 27). The 2011 apportionment removed Bloomingdale (to District 39), Chatham Borough (to District 21), East Hanover Township, Florham Park Borough, and Hanover Township (to District 27), Pequannock Township, Pompton Lakes Borough, and Riverdale Borough (to District 40),

Political representation

The district is represented for the 2016–2017 Legislative Session (Senate, General Assembly) in the State Senate by Joseph Pennacchio (R, Montville) and in the General Assembly by Jay Webber (R, Morris Plains) and BettyLou DeCroce (R, Parsippany-Troy Hills).

Election history

In the 1977 Democratic primary for the Senate seat, incumbent Frank J. Dodd faced opposition from Assemblyman Eldridge Hawkins and tennis star Althea Gibson, who was serving as state Athletic Commissioner. Dodd was supported by the Essex County Democratic organization under County Chairman Harry Lerner. With Gibson and Hawkins splitting the anti-organization vote, Dodd won the nomination and the subsequent general election.

In 1983, Leanna Brown challenged her former running-mate, James P. Vreeland, for the Republican nomination for State Senate in the Republican primary in what the Philadelphia Daily News described as a "stunning upset" and was elected to the State Senate, becoming the first woman from the Republican Party to serve in the upper house of the State Legislature. In 1993, Brown resigned from the Senate after she was appointed to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, initially to serve out the unexpired term of Charles J. Irwin. Assemblymember Robert Martin was chosen to fill Brown's vacancy in the Senate.

In December 1988 Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean nominated Ralph A. Loveys to succeed Joseph A. Sullivan as the chairman of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority In January 1989, Alex DeCroce, a member of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, was named to fill Loveys' vacant seat in the General Assembly.

Carol Murphy was nominated in February 2001 to serve on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities by Acting Governor of New Jersey Donald DiFrancesco. In February 2001, a special convention of district Republicans chose Joseph Pennacchio to fill the General Assembly seat vacated by Murphy.

Alex DeCroce died on January 9, 2012, after collapsing in a bathroom inside the Statehouse, just moments after the 214th Legislature held its final voting session. On January 25, 2012, his widow, BettyLou DeCroce, was selected by the Morris County Republican Committee to replace him in the Assembly until a November 2012 special election was held. She won the special election and subsequent general elections running with Jay Webber.