I used to live in West Milford, grew up there, graduated from high school there. I was curious about whether Passaic County was republican or democrat, having thought it leaned democrat. I looked it up, seems a bit of both:
The state’s Democratic strongholds include Mercer County around Trenton and Princeton; Essex County and Hudson County, the state’s two most urban counties, around the state’s two largest cities, Newark and Jersey City; Camden County and most of the other urban communities just outside of Philadelphia and New York; and more suburban northern counties in New York’s orbit, such as Union County and Middlesex County.
The more suburban northwestern and southeastern counties of the state are reliably Republican: Republicans have backing along the coast in Ocean County and in the mountainous northwestern part of the state, especially Sussex County, Morris County, and Warren County. Somerset County and Hunterdon County, other suburban counties in the region, are also Republican in local elections but can be competitive in national races. In the 2004 General Election, President Bush received about 52% in Somerset and 60% in Hunterdon, while up in rural Republican Sussex County, Bush won with 64% of the vote.
****About half of the counties in New Jersey, however, are considered swing counties, but some go more one way than others. For an example, Bergen County, which leans Republican in the northern half of the county, is mostly Democratic in the more populated southern parts, causing it to usually vote slightly Democratic (same with Passaic County, with a highly populated Hispanic Democratic south and a rural, Republican north), other “swing” counties like Cape May County tend to go Republican, as they also have population in conservative areas.****
Right. The congressional district that includes upper Passaic is oddly shaped -- a piece of it extends into northwest Jersey.
That district consistently elects Scott Garrett, who is a great Republican congressman.
OTOH, Paterson is also in Passaic County. Paterson (which in my family is called "terrorist central") elects some of the worst --like the execrable Bill Pascrell.
Do you remember Congressman Mike Pappas? He was a great Republican and was elected in Mercer County --Princeton etc. Unfortunately, he sang the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Starr" on the floor of the House, and his wretched Dim opponent Rush Holt played a recording of it endlessly in campaign commercials. That was the end of Mike Pappas.
What you said about Bergen County is true too.
It's Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties I'm mainly talking about. All three have their Dim pockets but are reliably Republican.