Tiebreaker Picks GOP Map for NJ House Seats

A tie-breaking member of New Jersey's redistricting committee voted for a new congressional map favoring Republicans on Friday.

Chairman John Farmer Jr., a former New Jersey Attorney General, rejected Democrats' arguments that the vote be postponed to give the public the chance to comment.

Farmer chose a map that combines two northern New Jersey districts and gives an advantage to the GOP in the new merged district. Republicans will have a 4 percentage point advantage in voter registration in the merged district.

Liberal Democrat Steve Rothman (D-9) would face conservative Republican Scott Garrett (R-5), if both choose to run for re-election in November.

Listen to an interview with The Star Ledger's Matt Friedman on the redistricting decision.

Ross K. Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers, said the two congressmen could not be more different. "Scott Garrett, who is a member of the financial services committee in the House of Representative, is the most conservative Republican in the New Jersey delegation, certainly on fiscal issues. Congressman Rothman is among the most liberal."

Even though Garrett has a slight edge, Baker said the race could still be competitive. "it's a highly diverse district, the father west you go the more Republican it gets, the farther east you go, the more democratic it gets." He added there are a number of independents in the district who could vote for a Democratic candidate.

New Jersey is losing one of its 13 House seats because of population shifts.

(Graphic: The map of congressional districts adopted by the commission. Courtesy of the Office of Legislative Services)

With the Associated Press