How Berkeley Voted For President, Congress, Marijuana

BERKELEY, NJ — Throughout the nation, Election Day may become Election Week or Election Month because of complications associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The tally isn't over in Berkeley either, but let's look at how the township voted on key issues and races so far.

The Ocean County Clerk's Office has primarily counted mail-in ballots as of Wednesday morning. Provisional votes haven't been fully determined and could affect the results of some races.

That said, here's what we can see so far.

President

The ballots in Berkeley overwhelmingly favor President Donald Trump, who has received 10,351 votes as of noon Wednesday. Vice President Joe Biden generated 5,927 votes in Berkeley.

In 2016, President Trump earned 15,317 votes in Berkeley, while Hillary Clinton netted 7,177.

Senate

Once again, Berkeley went red while New Jersey overall went blue. Sen. Cory Booker won re-election, but Republican challenger Rik Mehta has earned more votes in Berkeley.

Berkeley gave Mehta 9,922 votes, while Booker has 5,721 as of noon Wednesday.

During New Jersey's last senate race in 2018, Republican challenger Bob Hugin generated 12,622 Berkeley votes, while Sen. Bob Menendez earned 6,027 votes in the township.

Congress

Although Republican challenger David Richter received the majority of Berkeley votes, the numbers are a little closer than the presidential and Senate numbers as of noon Wednesday.

Richter earned 6,545 votes from Berkeley, while Congressman Andy Kim got 6,545.

But the Associated Press declared Kim the winner of the race. The Democratic incumbent has 173,009 votes overall, compared to Richter's 138,095. The AP has reported results from 432 of 571 precincts.

In 2018, Republican Tom MacArthur received 11,932 votes in Berkeley, while Kim generated 6,605.

Marijuana

The majority of Berkeley voters so far have favored legalizing recreational marijuana in the Garden State. In Berkeley, 9,254 voted to legalize recreational marijuana, while 6,254 opposed the measure.

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