The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure). Each district has one senator and two members of the New Jersey General Assembly, the lower house of the legislature. Prior to the election in which they are chosen, senators must be a minimum of 30 years old and a resident of the state for four years to be eligible to serve in office.
From 1844 until 1965 (when the Reynolds v. Sims US Supreme Court decision mandated all state legislators be elected from districts of roughly equal population), each county was an electoral district electing one senator. Under the 1844 Constitution, the term of office was three years, which was changed to four years with the 1947 Constitution. Since 1968 the Senate has consisted of 40 senators, who are elected in a 2-4-4 cycle. Senators serve a two-year term at the beginning of each decade, with the rest of the decade divided into two four-year terms. The 2-4-4 cycle was put into place so that Senate elections can reflect the changes made to the district boundaries on the basis of the decennial United States Census.Our Legislature, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 10, 2018. "Legislative elections are held in November of each odd-numbered year. Members of the Assembly serve two-year terms. Senators serve four-year terms, except for the first term of a new decade, which is only two years. This '2-4-4' cycle allows for elections from new districts as soon as possible after each reapportionment." If the cycle were not put into place, then the boundaries would sometimes be four years out of date before being used for Senate elections. Rather, with the varied term, the boundaries are only two years out of date. Thus elections for Senate seats take place in years ending with a 1, 3, or 7 (i.e. next elections in 2027, 2031, and 2033).
Interim appointments are made to fill vacant legislative seats by the county committee or committees of the party of the vacating person (since a constitutional amendment passed on November 8, 1988). The office is on the ballot for the next general election, even if the other Senate seats are not up for election in that year (such as in years ending with a 5 or 9, such as 2009 or 2015). The sole exception to this is if the vacancy occurred within 51 days of the election, in which case the appointment stands until the following general election.New Jersey Constitution , New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 10, 2018. "Any vacancy in the Legislature occasioned otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled by election for the unexpired term only at the next general election occurring not less than 51 days after the occurrence of the vacancy, except that no vacancy shall be filled at the general election which immediately precedes the expiration of the term in which the vacancy occurs. For the interim period pending the election and qualification of a successor to fill the vacancy, or for the remainder of the term in the case of a vacancy occurring that cannot be filled pursuant to the terms of this paragraph at a general election, the vacancy shall be filled within 35 days by the members of the county committee of the political party of which the incumbent was the nominee from the municipalities or districts or units thereof which comprise the legislative district. Article IV, Section IV, paragraph 1 amended effective December 8, 1988."
Service as a State Senator or Member of the General Assembly is considered to be part-time.Our Legislature | NJ Legislature Since 2026, legislators receive a base salary of $82,000. The last time the salary had increased was 2002. At that time, State Senators and Members of the General Assembly received an annual base salary of $49,000 with the Senate President and the Assembly Speaker earning slightly more (1/3 over the base).N.J.S.A. 52:10A-1 This was an increase from $35,000, which had been in effect since 1990. Additionally, each legislator receives an annual allowance of $150,000 for staff salaries.P.L. 2023, CHAPTER 349 ("An Act concerning the annual salary of certain public employees and officers, amending various parts of the statutory law, and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.") In the 2025 Fiscal Year, the total cost of the Legislature in the state budget was $127,346,000.FY 2025 Appropriations Act, Legislative Budget & Finance Office Of this amount, $18,690,000 was appropriated to the State Senate for salaries and other costs, and $25,208,000 was appropriated to the General Assembly.P.L.2024, CHAPTER 22 ("An Act making appropriations for the support of the State Government and the several public purposes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025 and regulating the disbursement thereof.")
Composition AffiliationParty (Shading indicates majority caucus)TotalVacantDemocraticRepublicanBegin 2018 25 15 40 0End 2020 26 13 39 12020–2022 legislature 25 15 40 02022–2024 legislature 24 16 40 0Begin 2024 25 15 40 0Latest voting share
List of state senators +DistrictNamePartyStartCountiesResidence1RepublicanAtlantic, Cape May, CumberlandVineland2RepublicanAtlanticEgg Harbor Township3DemocraticCumberland, Gloucester SalemPaulsboro4DemocraticAtlantic, Camden, GloucesterWashington Township5DemocraticCamden, GloucesterBarrington6DemocraticBurlington, CamdenVoorhees Township7DemocraticBurlingtonPalmyra8RepublicanAtlantic, BurlingtonSouthampton9RepublicanOceanLacey10RepublicanOcean, MonmouthToms River11DemocraticMonmouthLong Branch12RepublicanBurlington, Middlesex, OceanOld Bridge Township13RepublicanMonmouthLittle Silver14DemocraticMercer, MiddlesexPlainsboro Township15DemocraticHunterdon, MercerLawrence Township16DemocraticHunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, SomersetSouth Brunswick17DemocraticMiddlesex, SomersetPiscataway18DemocraticMiddlesexSouth Plainfield19DemocraticMiddlesexWoodbridge20DemocraticUnionUnion Township21RepublicanMiddlesex, Morris, Somerset, UnionWestfield22DemocraticSomerset, UnionLinden23RepublicanHunterdon, Somerset, WarrenLopatcong24RepublicanMorris, Sussex, WarrenWantage25RepublicanMorris, PassaicBoonton Township26RepublicanMorris, PassaicRockaway Township27DemocraticEssex, PassaicWest Orange28DemocraticEssex, UnionIrvington29DemocraticEssex, HudsonNewark30RepublicanMonmouth, OceanLakewood Township31DemocraticHudsonJersey City32DemocraticHudsonJersey City33DemocraticHudsonUnion City34DemocraticEssexEast Orange35DemocraticBergen, PassaicPaterson36DemocraticBergen, PassaicWood-Ridge37DemocraticBergenEnglewood38DemocraticBergenParamus39RepublicanBergenRiver Vale40RepublicanBergen, PassaicTotowa
Committees and committee chairs Committee chairs for the 2026–2028 Legislative Session are:
Budget and Appropriations – Paul Sarlo (D-District 36) Commerce – Joseph Lagana (D-District 38) Community and Urban Affairs – Troy Singleton (D-District 7) Economic Growth – Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-District 5) Education – Vin Gopal (D-District 11) Environment and Energy – Bob Smith (D-District 17) Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens – Joe F. Vitale (D-District 19) Higher Education – Joseph Cryan (D-District 20) Judiciary – Brian P. Stack (D-District 33) Labor – Gordon Johnson (D-District 37) Law and Public Safety – Linda R. Greenstein (D-District 14) Legislative Oversight – Andrew Zwicker (D-District 16) Military and Veterans' Affairs – Raj Mukherji (D-District 32) Rules and Order – Vacant State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation – James Beach (D-District 6) Transportation – Patrick J. Diegnan (D-District 18)
List of Senate presidents
The following is a list of presidents of the New Jersey Senate since the adoption of the 1844 State Constitution:
1845–1848: John C. Smallwood, Gloucester 1849–1850: Ephraim March, Morris 1851: Silas D. Canfield, Passaic 1852: John Manners, Hunterdon 1853–1856: William C. Alexander, Mercer 1857–1858: Henry V. Speer, Middlesex 1859: Thomas H. Herring, Bergen 1860: Charles L. C. Gifford, Essex 1861: Edmund Perry, Hunterdon 1862: Joseph T. Crowell, Union 1863: Anthony Reckless, Monmouth 1864: Amos Robbins, Middlesex 1865: Edward W. Scudder, Mercer 1866: James M. Scovel, Camden 1867: Benjamin Buckley, Passaic 1868–1869: Henry S. Little, Monmouth 1870: Amos Robbins 1871–1872: Edward Bettle, Camden 1873–1875: John W. Taylor, Essex 1876: William J. Sewell, Camden 1877: Leon Abbett, Hudson 1878: George C. Ludlow, Middlesex 1879–1880: William J. Sewell 1881–1882: Garret Hobart, Passaic 1883: John J. Gardner, Atlantic 1884: Benjamin A. Vail, Union 1885: Abraham V. Schenck, Middlesex 1886: John W. Griggs, Passaic 1887: Frederick S. Fish, Essex 1888: George H. Large, Hunterdon 1889: George T. Werts, Morris 1890: Henry M. Nevius, Monmouth 1891–1893: Robert Adrain, Middlesex 1894: Maurice A. Rogers, Camden 1895: Edward C. Stokes, Cumberland 1896: Lewis A. Thompson, Somerset (resigned March 30) 1896–1897: Robert Williams, Passaic 1898: Foster M. Voorhees, Union (became Acting Governor February 1) 1898: William H. Skirm (pro tem), Mercer 1899: Charles A. Reed, Somerset 1900: William M. Johnson, Bergen 1901: Mahlon Pitney, Morris 1902: Charles Asa Francis, Monmouth 1903: Elijah C. Hutchinson, Mercer 1904: Edmund W. Wakelee, Bergen 1905: Joseph Cross, Union (resigned March 30) 1905–1906: William J. Bradley, Camden 1907: Bloomfield H. Minch, Cumberland 1908: Thomas J. Hillery, Morris 1909: Samuel K. Robbins, Burlington (resigned April 16) 1909–1910: Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, Somerset 1911: Ernest R. Ackerman, Union 1912: John Dyneley Prince, Passaic 1913: James F. Fielder, Hudson (became Acting Governor March 1) 1913: James A. C. Johnson (pro tem), Bergen 1914: John W. Slocum, Monmouth 1915: Walter E. Edge, Atlantic 1916: William T. Read, Camden (resigned March 29) 1916–1917: George W. F. Gaunt, Gloucester 1918: Thomas F. McCran, Passaic 1919: William N. Runyon, Union 1920: Clarence E. Case, Somerset 1921: Collins B. Allen, Salem 1922: William B. Mackay Jr., Bergen 1923: Joseph F. Wallworth, Camden 1924: Firman M. Reeves, Cumberland 1925: William H. Bright, Cape May 1926: Morgan F. Larson, Middlesex 1927: Francis B. Davis, Gloucester 1928: William A. Stevens, Monmouth 1929: Thomas A. Mathis, Ocean 1930: Arthur N. Pierson, Union 1931: Joseph G. Wolber, Essex 1932: A. Crozer Reeves, Mercer 1933: Emerson Lewis Richards, Atlantic 1934: Clifford R. Powell, Burlington 1935: Horace G. Prall, Hunterdon 1936: John C. Barbour, Passaic (resigned June 26) 1936–1937: Frank Durand, Monmouth 1938: Charles E. Loizeaux, Union 1939: Robert C. Hendrickson, Gloucester 1940: Arthur F. Foran, Hunterdon 1941–1942: I. Grant Scott, Cape May 1943: George H. Stanger, Cumberland 1944: Howard Eastwood, Burlington (resigned August 31) 1944: George H. Stanger 1945: Frank S. Farley, Atlantic 1946: Haydn Proctor, Monmouth 1947: Charles K. Barton, Passaic 1948: John M. Summerill Jr., Salem 1949: David Van Alstyne, Bergen 1950: Samuel L. Bodine, Hunterdon 1951: Alfred B. Littell, Sussex 1952: Harold W. Hannold, Gloucester 1953: David Young III, Morris 1954: W. Steelman Mathis, Ocean 1955: Bruce A. Wallace, Camden 1956: Wayne Dumont Jr., Warren 1957: Albert McCay, Burlington 1958: Richard R. Stout, Monmouth 1959: Wesley L. Lance, Hunterdon 1960: George B. Harper, Sussex 1961: Thomas J. Hillery, Morris 1962: Robert C. Crane, Union (resigned January 9) 1962: Frank S. Farley 1963: William E. Ozzard, Somerset 1964–1965: Charles W. Sandman, Cape May 1966: John A. Lynch Sr., 7th District 1967: Sido L. Ridolfi, 6th District 1968: Edwin B. Forsythe, 4B District 1969: Frank X. McDermott, 9th District 1970–1972: Raymond Bateman, 8th District 1973: Alfred N. Beadleston, 5th District 1974–1975: Frank J. Dodd, 26th District