Very true. But there are still pockets of NJ that are quite conservative (Trump carried 8 out of 21 counties which were in South Jersey and NW Jersey). The problem is the cities which soak up money from the burbs and rural areas and have the voting power.
This isn't an anomaly. Forget about the cities. The New Jersey suburbs are becoming a hotbed of leftist politics due to two trends:
1. Democrats moving here from New York City and Philadelphia.
2. Republicans who were born and raised here moving to places like North Carolina, Florida and Texas -- usually when their employers move out of the state and take their jobs with them.
I've traveled all over North America, and I can tell you that you'd be hard-pressed to find a dumber group of voters than suburban women in New Jersey.