New Jersey's 35th legislative district is one of 40 districts that make up the map for the New Jersey Legislature. It encompasses the Bergen County municipalities of Elmwood Park and Garfield and the Passaic County municipalities of Haledon, North Haledon, Paterson, and Prospect Park.
Demographic information As of the 2020 United States census, the district had a population of 238,160, of whom 179,831 (75.5%) were of voting age. The racial makeup of the district was 64,563 (27.1%) White, 46,103 (19.4%) African American, 2,962 (1.2%) Native American, 12,901 (5.4%) Asian, 96 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 79,289 (33.3%) from some other race, and 32,246 (13.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 126,899 (53.3%) of the population.
The district had 132,960 registered voters , of whom 62,260 (46.8%) were registered as Democrats, 51,875 (39.0%) were registered as unaffiliated, 16,560 (12.5%) were registered as Republicans, and 2,265 (1.7%) were registered to other parties.Statewide Voter Registration Summary by Legislative District, New Jersey Department of State, December 1, 2023. Accessed January 26, 2023.
Political representation
The legislative district is located entirely within New Jersey's 9th congressional district congressional district.
Apportionment history The 35th district has been based around Paterson since its creation in 1973. The 1973 through 1981 version of the district included Paterson, Prospect Park, Hawthorne, and North Haledon. A slight shift in the district occurred in the 1981 redistricting when North Haledon was removed, and Haledon and Elmwood Park were added. West Paterson was added and North Haledon was re-added to the district in the 1991 redistricting. In the 2001 redistricting, West Paterson swapped places with Totowa and Bergen County borough Glen Rock was added.
Election history Session Senate General Assembly 1974–1975 Frank Davenport (R)Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)William H. Hicks (D) 1976–1977 Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)Ronald Fava (R) 1978–1979 Frank X. Graves Jr. (D)Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)John Girgenti (D) 1980–1981 Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)John Girgenti (D) 1982–1983 Frank X. Graves Jr. (D)Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)John Girgenti (D) 1984–1985 Frank X. Graves Jr. (D)Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)John Girgenti (D) 1986–1987 Vincent O. Pellecchia (D)John Girgenti (D) 1988–1989 Frank X. Graves Jr. (D)Died March 4, 1990Bill Pascrell (D)John Girgenti (D)1990–1991 Bill Pascrell (D)John Girgenti (D)Appointed to the Senate on April 5, 1990, elected to remainder of unexpired term in November 1990 John Girgenti (D)Cyril Yannarelli (D)Appointed to the Assembly on May 17, 1990, defeated in November 1990 special electionFrank Catania (R)Elected November 1990 special election and sworn into the Assembly shortly thereafter 1992–1993 John Girgenti (D)Bill Pascrell (D)Frank Catania (R)1994–1995 John Girgenti (D)Bill Pascrell (D)Frank Catania (R)Resigned on September 23, 1994 to become director of Division of Gaming EnforcementDonald Hayden (R)Appointed to the Assembly in 19941996–1997 Bill Pascrell (D)Resigned on January 3, 1997 after being elected to CongressAlfred E. Steele (D)Nellie Pou (D)Appointed to the Assembly on January 29, 1997 1998–1999 John Girgenti (D)Nellie Pou (D)Alfred E. Steele (D) 2000–2001 Nellie Pou (D)Alfred E. Steele (D) 2002–2003 John Girgenti (D)Nellie Pou (D)Alfred E. Steele (D) 2004–2005 John Girgenti (D)Nellie Pou (D)Alfred E. Steele (D)2006–2007 Nellie Pou (D)Alfred E. Steele (D)Resigned on September 10, 2007Elease Evans (D)Appointed to the Assembly on November 9, 2007 2008–2009 John Girgenti (D)Nellie Pou (D)Elease Evans (D) 2010–2011 Nellie Pou (D)Elease Evans (D) 2012–2013 Nellie Pou (D)Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2014–2015 Nellie Pou (D)Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2016–2017 Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2018–2019 Nellie Pou (D)Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2020–2021 Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2022–2023 Nellie Pou (D) Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D) 2024–2025 Nellie Pou (D)Resigned on January 1, 2025 after being elected to Congress Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Shavonda E. Sumter (D)Benjie E. Wimberly (D)Resigned from the Assembly on January 12, 2025 and appointed to the State Senate on January 30, 2025 Al Abdelaziz (D)Appointed to the Assembly on January 22, 2025 2026–2027 Al Abdelaziz (D)Kenyatta Stewart (D)
Election results Senate
General Assembly
References