2016 United States presidential election in New Jersey
The 2016 United States presidential election in New Jersey was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. New Jersey voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. New Jersey has 14 electoral votes  in the Electoral College. Clinton won the state with 55.5% of the vote over Trump's 41.35%, or a 14-point margin. Despite her victory in the state, Clinton's vote share was slightly poorer than the vote shares President Barack Obama got from the state in 2008 and 2012. Donald Trump became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying Somerset County since Benjamin Harrison in 1888. Primary elections. New Jersey's presidential primaries were on June 7, 2016, with the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian parties participating. Registered members of each party could only vote in their  party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated could choose any 1 primary in which to vote. Democratic primary. Two candidates appeared on the Democratic presidential primary ballot: Republican primary. 3 candidates appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot: General election. Predictions. Candidate ballot access: By congressional district. Clinton won 7 of 12 congressional districts. Analysis. Hillary Clinton's 55.5% of the vote was 2.9% less than Barack Obama's win in the state in 2012. This was the first time since 1976 that New Jersey did not vote for the same candidate as neighboring Pennsylvania. Conversely, Donald Trump became  the first Republican to win Gloucester County since George H. W. Bush in 1988. Overall, the trend from 2012 to 2016 was that suburban areas of central and northern New Jersey voted more Democratic, while the shore and southern New Jersey voted more Republican. Clinton's most notable improvements over Obama in 2012 were seen in Union, Somerset, and Morris Counties. In Morris, Clinton came within 5% of winning the county, which has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. Clinton's stronger performance in the suburban towns of north-central New Jersey, such as Summit, Westfield, and  Bridgewater, helped her narrowly win the 7th congressional district. On the other hand, southern New Jersey, especially Cumberland County and Salem County, voted significantly more Republican than they had in 2012. For example, even though Cumberland County voted Democratic in both 2012 and 2016, Clinton won it by just 6%, whereas Obama had won it by nearly 24% in 2012. Additionally, the four shore counties (Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May) all voted more Republican than they had in 2012. While Mitt Romney had won these four counties collectively by around 6% in 2012, Trump won them by 17% in  2016.