ELECTION DAY 2020: Election Day in NJ marks end — not start — of voting – Press of Atlantic City

The presidential race between Democrat Joe Biden and incumbent Republican Donald Trump isn’t expected to be close in New Jersey. The U.S. Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Cory Booker and his GOP challenger also doesn’t look close.

But a handful of House races look to be toss-ups, and the marijuana ballot question has national implications: If approved, New Jersey would become the 12th state, plus the District of Columbia, to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

This year’s election is unique because it’s being conducted mostly by mail-in ballots. Already more than 3.5 million people have sent in their ballots, according to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

A closer look at this year’s most watched races:

No Republican has carried New Jersey since 1988. The state’s 14 electoral votes are viewed to be safely in Biden’s column. Still, New Jersey has strong pockets of support for Trump and is the home to three of his golf clubs. The club in Bedminster regularly hosts the president when he comes to the area. Trump announced that he was positive with COVID-19 just hours after attending a campaign fundraiser at the Bedminster club in October.

U.S. SENATE

Booker is seeking his second full term after winning a special election in 2013 after the death of Frank Lautenberg.

Booker is the former mayor of Newark, the state’s biggest city. He is a well-recognized figure, whose failed run in the most recent Democratic presidential primary had him under the national spotlight for months.

Mehta is new to the game and is the founder of biopharmaceutical firms. He lives in traditionally Republican Morris County with his wife and three children, while Booker lives in the Democratic stronghold of Newark in Essex County, with his partner, actor Rosario Dawson.

Unlike six years ago, when Booker was running for his first full term, he has landmark legislation to highlight. He was a top sponsor of the First Step Act, which Trump signed in 2018. The criminal justice overhaul gave judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders. It also boosted prisoner rehabilitation efforts.

It’s something he’s put at the center of his reelection campaign, pointing to the bipartisan nature of the new law.

Mehta describes himself as “unapologetically” Republican and is a strong supporter of the president.

If victorious, Mehta, who is Indian American, would be the first person of Asian descent to win a Senate seat from New Jersey. He would also be the first Republican since Clifford Case in 1972 to win a Senate election in New Jersey.

MARIJUANA BALLOT QUESTION

Polls show roughly 60% support for the legalization of recreational marijuana. The governor and Democrat-led Legislature also support legalization.

If the measure is approved, the state commission overseeing the medical marijuana program would be in charge of setting up a recreational-use market. Along with an age restriction, cannabis would be subject to the state’s 6.625% sales tax.

The amendment also authorizes the Legislature to enact a law letting towns and cities collect a tax on cannabis of up to 2%.

It’s unclear, though, how soon after the amendment passes that marijuana could hit the market. Lawmakers are wrestling with whether to enact legislation before the public weighs in in order to speed up when the market can open.

HOUSE DISTRICT 2

This is perhaps the most closely watched race in the state. Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew gained national attention when he abandoned the Democratic Party in December and became a Republican, saying he couldn’t support impeachment of the president. He pledged his “undying support” to Trump during an Oval Office meeting and in January hosted the president in Wildwood for a rally.

That was before the COVID-19 outbreak. Since then, Van Drew has been locked in a tight race against Democratic opponent Amy Kennedy, a former public school teacher. She’s also the spouse of former Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

The southern New Jersey district encompasses all or part of eight counties and supported Trump in 2016, though it backed Democrat Barack Obama in his two presidential runs.

HOUSE DISTRICT 3

Democratic incumbent Andy Kim is running for his second term in the southern New Jersey district that stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs along the Delaware River in Burlington County to Ocean County.

He faces Republican former businessman David Richter. Richter originally planned to run against Van Drew. But when Van Drew became a Republican, Richter moved north to seek the 3rd District seat.

Richter, a retired Hill International executive, is a newcomer to politics.

HOUSE DISTRICT 7

Freshman Democrat Tom Malinowski faces Tom Kean Jr., the state Senate Republican Minority Leader and son of former GOP Gov. Tom Kean.

The 7th District includes parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, and all of Hunterdon.

The race has taken a negative turn, with Kean’s supporters airing ads claiming that Malinowski lobbied against a national sex offender registry. Malinowski explicitly denied the claim, which stems from his work as a lobbyist for Human Rights Watch. Republicans have pointed to lobbying records showing Malinowski’s name as a lobbyist on legislation, including the sex offender registry. But Malinowski covered foreign policy while at Human Rights Watch, he said, not domestic policy. The ads have led to Malinowski getting death threats, his office has said.

HOUSE DISTRICT 11

Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat and former prosecutor and Navy pilot, is running for her second term against Republican Rosemary Becchi, a former attorney for the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee.

Northern New Jersey’s 11th District covers parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties. It has the highest median income among the state’s congressional districts at $121,000, according to the Census.

OTHER HOUSE DISTRICTS

In the state’s other eight House districts, Democrats are defending seven seats, while Republican Rep. Chris Smith is seeking his 21st term.

ATLANTIC CITY MAYOR

Marty Small, the Democratic incumbent, is running for the final year of his predecessor’s unexpired term. He is being challenged by Republican Tom Forkin. The winner will presumably run again next year for a full four-year term. It’s a time of upheaval in the seaside gambling resort, struggling with the coronavirus pandemic that has kept casinos restricted to 25% of capacity. The city also remains under state control under a takeover law approved by former Republican Gov. Chris Christie and the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.