New Jersey's 28th legislative district is one of 40 in the New Jersey Legislature. The district includes the Essex County municipalities of Maplewood, Irvington and South Orange, along with portions of Newark (which is also part of the 29th district); and the Union County municipality of Hillside.Districts by Number, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed February 19, 2014.Municipalities (sorted by 2011 legislative district) , New Jersey Department of State. Accessed February 19, 2014.

Demographic characteristics As of the 2020 United States census, the district had a population of 252,742, of whom 191,494 (75.8%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 53,547 (21.2%) White, 136,126 (53.9%) African American, 1,242 (0.5%) Native American, 10,794 (4.3%) Asian, 96 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 28,388 (11.2%) from some other race, and 22,549 (8.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51,058 (20.2%) of the population.

The district had 162,994 registered voters as of December 1, 2021, of whom 60,781 (37.3%) were registered as unaffiliated, 86,702 (53.2%) were registered as Democrats, 13,745 (8.4%) were registered as Republicans, and 1,766 (1.1%) were registered to other parties.Statewide Voter Registration Summary, New Jersey Department of State, December 1, 2021. Accessed December 27, 2021.

Political representation

The legislative district overlaps with 10th and 11th congressional districts.

Apportionment history Since the creation of the 28th district in 1973 with the first drawing of the 40-district legislative map, the district has always included Irvington and a portion of western Newark. In the 1973 through 1981 version of the district, South Orange was also included in the district. In the 1981 redistricting, it only consisted of Irvington and most of Newark's North Ward. Following the 1991 redistricting, the 28th expanded to South Orange again and Maplewood for the first time. In the 2001 redistricting, the district stretched from Irvington, to a narrow strip of Newark, and into Belleville and Bloomfield. After the 2011 redistricting, Belleville moved to the 29th district while the 28th picked up Glen Ridge and Nutley. As a result of this redistricting, long-time Belleville resident and incumbent Assemblyman Ralph R. Caputo moved to Nutley to run for re-election.Milo, Paul. "Report: Caputo Bidding Adieu to Belleville; Redistricting Compelling Move, Assemblyman Says", Belleville Patch, April 8, 2011. Accessed December 22, 2014. "There's been another development in what is proving to be an eventful week in local politics: Assemblyman Ralph Caputo is leaving Belleville and relocating to Nutley, where he plans to seek re-election from the 28th District, according to a published report."

In the 1970s, there was a high turnover rate among the district's legislators. The first pair of Assemblymen only served one term; Philip Keegan who would later become the head of the State Democratic Party retired in 1975 while the incumbent Rocco Neri was defeated by Peter Shapiro who was ultimately elected in the general election and became the state's youngest ever legislator at the age of 23. The County Organization candidate that did win in 1975, Patrick Scanlon, died on June 11, 1977, and was replaced on the general election ballot by his wife, Mary. In the November 1977 special election to complete the remainder of Scanlon's term, a Seton Hall graduate student named Joseph Papasidero won to serve for two months in the Assembly. 1979 brought more changes to the district's delegation. Shapiro resigned in January to become Essex County's first Executive while Senator Martin L. Greenberg resigned in August for personal reasons. Newark Fire Chief John P. Caufield won the November 1979 special election for Greenberg's Senate seat while Remay Pearce won to serve for the remainder of Shapiro's Assembly term making her the first African American woman elected to the Assembly from the district.

Through the 1980s, the district's delegation remained relatively stable with Michael F. Adubato, brother of Newark power broker Steve Adubato Sr., and James Zangari serving in the Assembly from the 28th throughout the entire decade. Caufield died of cancer on August 24, 1986, and was replaced in the Senate by Newark councilman Ronald Rice who still serves in the Senate from this district today.

Major shifts would occur in the district's representatives in the 2000s decade. Donald Kofi Tucker died on October 17, 2005, weeks before the 2005 general election in which he was a candidate. Tucker won the election posthumously which meant the Essex County Democratic Committee members would choose a person to serve the remainder of Tucker's unexpired term and a temporary replacement for the 2006 session. Former Newark School Board President Evelyn Williams was chosen in a vote over Essex County Freeholder and former Republican Assemblyman Ralph R. Caputo to serve in the unexpired term. However, soon after she was sworn into the Assembly in December, Williams was arrested on shoplifting charges. Williams would step down shortly before the end of the session of the legislature leaving one seat vacant again. Librarian and Newark South Ward Democratic activist Oadline Truitt was chosen by the committee to serve until a November 2006 special election that she also won. Truitt and incumbent Assemblyman Craig A. Stanley were defeated in the 2007 Democratic primary by the Cory Booker-backed ticket of Caputo and Cleopatra Tucker, widow of Donald Tucker.

The district, due to its urban core, leans very heavily to the Democratic Party having only elected Democrats to the state legislature. The 28th is one of the few districts statewide to have only elected members of one party to the legislature. The closest races for the legislature in this district are as a result of independent politicians receiving a large share of the vote in some elections. For example, the lowest winning percentages for the Democratic candidates occurred in 1979 when Harry A. McEnroe and Zangari won 29.92% and 27.98% of the total vote respectively (57.9% total), while the two Republican candidates combined had 27.3% of the vote. Three independent candidates received 14.8% of the vote, 7.6% of which were for incumbent Assemblywoman Mary Scanlon who ran as an independent when she lost the party committee's backing in the primary election.

Election history Senators and Assembly members elected from the district are as follows: Session Senate General Assembly 1974–1975 Martin L. Greenberg (D) Philip Keegan (D) Rocco Neri (D) 1976–1977 Patrick Scanlon (D)Died June 11, 1977 Peter Shapiro (D) Joseph Papasidero (D)Elected to the Assembly in November 1977 special election, sworn in on November 21, 1977 1978–1979 Martin L. Greenberg (D)Resigned August 16, 1979 Mary Scanlon (D) Peter Shapiro (D)Resigned January 9, 1979, to become Essex County Executive John P. Caufield (D)Elected to the Senate in November 1979 special election, sworn in on November 13, 1979 Remay Pearce (D)Elected to the Assembly in November 1979 special election, sworn in on November 19, 1979 1980–1981 Harry A. McEnroe (D) James Zangari (D) 1982–1983 John P. Caufield (D) Michael F. Adubato (D) James Zangari (D) 1984–1985 John P. Caufield (D)Died August 24, 1986  Michael F. Adubato (D) James Zangari (D) 1986–1987 Michael F. Adubato (D) James Zangari (D) Ronald Rice (D)Elected to the Senate on November 18, 1986, special election, sworn in on December 4, 1986 1988–1989 Ronald Rice (D) Michael F. Adubato (D) James Zangari (D) 1990–1991Staff. "Vote Totals for the Elections Held on Tuesday in New York and New Jersey", The New York Times, November 9, 1989. Accessed October 12, 2010. Michael F. Adubato (D) James Zangari (D) 1992–1993 Ronald Rice (D) Harry A. McEnroe (D) James Zangari (D) 1994–1995Sullivan, Joseph F. "THE 1993 ELECTIONS: New Jersey Legislature; Cut Taxes 30 Percent? Whitman's Top Statehouse Allies Say Not So Fast", The New York Times, November 4, 1993. Accessed October 12, 2010. Ronald Rice (D) Harry A. McEnroe (D) James Zangari (D) 1996–1997 Craig A. Stanley (D) Wilfredo Caraballo (D) 1998–1999Staff. "THE 1997 ELECTIONS: RESULTS; The Races for the New Jersey Assembly", The New York Times, November 5, 1997. Accessed October 12, 2010. Ronald Rice (D) Craig A. Stanley (D) Wilfredo Caraballo (D) 2000–2001Kocieniewski, David. "THE 1999 ELECTIONS: NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLY; Democrats Win Seats in Three Districts, Narrowing Republicans' Majority", The New York Times, November 3, 1999. Accessed October 12, 2010. Craig A. Stanley (D) Wilfredo Caraballo (D) 2002–2003Staff. "THE 2001 ELECTIONS; RESULTS – The Races for New Jersey", The New York Times, November 8, 2001. Accessed October 12, 2010. Ronald Rice (D) Craig A. Stanley (D) Donald Kofi Tucker (D) 2004–2005Kocieniewski, David. "THE 2003 ELECTION: THE STATEHOUSE; Democrats Seize Senate And Widen Assembly Gap", The New York Times, November 5, 2003. Accessed October 12, 2010. Ronald Rice (D) Craig A. Stanley (D) Donald Kofi Tucker (D)Died October 17, 2005 Evelyn Williams (D) 2006–2007 Craig A. Stanley (D) Oadline Truitt (D)Appointed to the Assembly on February 9, 2006, elected to complete the term in November 2006 special election 2008–2009 Ronald Rice (D) Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2010–2011Staff. "2009 Election Results" , The New York Times, November 9, 2009. Accessed October 12, 2010. Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2012–2013 Ronald Rice (D) Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2014–2015 Ronald Rice (D) Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2016–2017 Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2018–2019 Ronald Rice (D) Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2020–2021 Ralph R. Caputo (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2022–2023 Ronald Rice (D)Resigned August 31, 2022 for health reasons Ralph R. Caputo (D)Resigned March 22, 2023 to become a member of the board of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Cleopatra Tucker (D) Renee Burgess (D)Appointed to the Senate on September 29, 2022 Jackie Yustein (D)Appointed to the Assembly on May 25, 2023 2024–2025 Renee Burgess (D) Garnet Hall (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D) 2026–2027 Chigozie Onyema (D) Cleopatra Tucker (D)

Election results Senate

General Assembly

References