NJ Election 2020: President, Congress, Local NJ Election Results

POINT PLEASANT - New Jersey picked its choice for president and US senator, members of Congress and local municipal officials this week. Garden State residents also voted to legalize marijuana (see results below).

Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, defeated the Republican incumbent, President Donald Trump, in New Jersey, and media outlets projected him as the overall winner on Saturday. New Jersey has 14 electoral votes. Read more: Biden Wins NJ In 2020 Presidential Election, AP Projects

Trump, whose casinos in New Jersey helped make him a national household name, was not expected to present a strong challenge to Biden in New Jersey, which hasn't voted for a Republican for president since George H.W. Bush in 1988.

Biden, the former Delaware senator who served as Barack Obama's vice president from 2009 to 2017, was leading the president anywhere from 13 to 24 points in various New Jersey polls. With nearly all precincts reporting, Biden was winning the Garden State 58 to 20 percent, according to The Associated Press.

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.

Incumbent Democrat Cory Booker also was projected to defeat Republican Rik Mehta, according to The Associated Press. Read more: Cory Booker Wins In 2020 NJ Senate Election, AP Says

Booker, who was first elected to his post in 2013, is the former mayor of Newark and still lives in the city's central ward, a fact he played up during his bid for president. His run ended in January, when the senator announced there was no longer a path to victory.

Mehta, an attorney and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official, outlasted several other Republican candidates who either dropped out of the race or were defeated in the primary election.

Eleven of the 12 of the state's congressional seats were decided. New Jersey's delegation to the US House of Representatives remains, at the moment, split between 10 Democrats and two Republicans.

The Associated Press projected incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-Union, as the winner over Republican state Sen. Thomas Kean Jr. in the 7th District race, but other news outlets said it was too close to call as votes continue to be counted. Read more: Malinowski's Lead Over Kean In 7th Congressional Race Narrows

After several failed attempts in the state Legislature, voters also voted to legalize the possession and use of marijuana. The measure passed by a 66 to 33 percent spread. Read more: NJ Legalizes Recreational Marijuana: AP

The drug isn't expected to be available in New Jersey stores immediately, but the referendum's passage will help Gov. Phil Murphy fulfill a promise he made when he campaigned for office in 2017.

Voters also agreed to make peacetime veterans eligible to receive the veterans' property tax deduction. Read more: NJ Redistricting, Peacetime Vets Exemption Proposals Approved: AP

A number of local races in New Jersey communities such as Toms River, Brick and elsewhere were also being determined as voters took the polls on a busy Election Day (see below).

Key Congressional races

Democrats flipped a number of seats in the House of Representatives in 2018, but one of the seats flipped back last year.

That 2nd District race was expected to be the most closely contest of the 12, as Democrat Amy Kennedy was challenging Republican Jeff Van Drew, a former Democrat, in the 2nd Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for Van Drew by Friday.

Here were the hotly contested races that helped keep the Democrats in control of the House of Representatives (click on the race):

• 2nd District
• 3rd District
• 4th District
• 5th District
• 7th District
• 11th District

Local races

Here are the key municipal and school board races that could have some surprising results (click on the links):

• Asbury Park
• Barnegat
• Bloomfield
• Brick
• Bridgewater
• Chatham
• Cherry Hill
• Chester
• Clark
• East Brunswick
• Garwood
• Glen Rock
• Gloucester Township
• Hillsborough BOE
• Hillsborough Committee
• Lacey
• Madison
• Manasquan
• Manchester
• Mendham
• Middletown BOE
• Middletown Committee
• Moorestown
• Morris Township
• Point Pleasant Boro
• Princeton
• Ridgewood
• Scotch Plains
• Stafford Township
• South Brunswick
• Toms River
• Warren
• West Orange
• Westfield

Since the change to this year's election was announced by Gov. Phil Murphy because of the coronavirus, there have been many questions about how the process will work.

Every the ballot sent through the mail had to be postmarked by Nov. 3. It must be received by your county's election boards by 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.

"Every vote should be safe. Every vote should be secure. Every vote should be counted," Murphy said of the process.

See our full election coverage for New Jersey on our topic page.