The subtle trend continues.
Yes, New Jersey Democrats can boast about having a million more registered voters in their party compared to Republicans (2,524,019 vs. 1,520,511), according to the October statistics from the states Division of Elections.
But Republicans continue to add small but steady numbers of registered voters in the state. Compared to this time last year, 14,061 more people registered as Republican. Registered Democrats, meanwhile, dropped by 52,723 and the number of voters who claim no party affiliation slipped by 59,836 to 2,351,116.
The uptick for the GOP was driven by increased numbers in Ocean and Monmouth counties.
This comes as voters prepare to head to the polls in Tuesdays midterm elections that will help decide the fate of who controls the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Get politics news like this right to your inbox with the N.J. Politics newsletter. Add your email below and hit “subscribe”
Polling over the summer after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court struck down a persons right to an abortion showed Democrats could maintain control of the House. But with issues such as the economy at the forefront of voters concerns, it suggests Republicans will take control. The U.S. Senate, which Democrats control with a slim majority, is a toss-up.
People who have not formally claimed any party affiliation had long been the largest number of New Jersey voters. But they ceded ground to Democrats about three years ago. There are also 90,761 voters who claimed affiliation with other political parties such as the Libertarian, Conservative and Green parties.
New Jersey had more than 6.47 million registered voters as of October, nearly 100,000 fewer compared to last year.
Here is a county-by-county breakdown of which political party rules in each of New Jerseys 21 counties and how much each party gained since this time last year:Atlantic County
Democrats: 71,365
Republicans: 57,521
Unaffiliated: 70,990
President Joe Biden won by nearly 7 points against former President Donald Trump and the county went for Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy by 10 points in 2017. But Atlantic supported Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2009 and 2013.
Atlantic County swung back in support of the Republican Party in 2021. It backed Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli by 11 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Atlantic County lost 3,945 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 3,113 registered Democrats, and gained 275 Republican voters.
Bergen County
Democrats: 258,367
Republicans: 150,257
Unaffiliated: 255,991
Bergen is the most populous county in the state with more than 932,200 people, according to U.S. Census data. Biden carried it by 16 points and registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 114,631.
Murphy won by 6 points over Ciattarelli.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Bergen County lost 10,334 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 6,463 registered Democrats and 481 Republican voters.Burlington County
Democrats: 139,485
Republicans: 92,199
Unaffiliated: 118,895
Biden won Burlington by nearly 20 points and Murphy took it by nearly 15 points in 2017 and 7 points in 2021. But the county twice tipped in Christies favor.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Burlington County lost 924 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 373 registered Democrats, and gained 1,283 Republican voters.Camden County
Democrats: 185,844
Republicans: 64,946
Unaffiliated: 136,160
Murphy secured the county by 36 points during his first campaign and 25 points last year. Biden took it by 33.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Camden County lost 3,773 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 3,879 registered Democrats, and gained 387 Republican voters.Cape May County
Democrats: 18,663
Republicans: 32,854
Unaffiliated: 23,540
Republicans continue to reign supreme. Trump carried the county by nearly 16 points and Murphy lost to former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in 2017 by 8 points. Ciattarelli carried it by 26 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Cape May County gained 13 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county gained 138 registered Democrats, and gained 882 Republican voters.Cumberland County
Democrats: 33,449
Republicans: 23,417
Unaffiliated: 37,875
Biden took it by 6 points and Murphy won it with double digits in 2017. But Ciattarelli took it by 12 points last year.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Cumberland County lost 449 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 907 registered Democrats, and gained 580 Republican voters.Essex County
Democrats: 295,945
Republicans: 58,504
Unaffiliated: 207,119
Essex County is home to the states largest city, Newark. It has the largest Democratic-Republican gap in the state and the largest Biden-Trump voting gap. Biden won it by 55 points and Murphy took it by 60 points in 2017 and 49 points in 2021. Its one of only two counties that went blue in the 2013 gubernatorial race, which Republican Christie won by about 22 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Essex County lost 2,095 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 3,400 registered Democrats, and lost 23 Republican voters.Gloucester County
Democrats: 86,738
Republicans: 59,611
Unaffiliated: 79,197
Registered Republicans rank last against their Democratic and unaffiliated counterparts in Gloucester County. Biden won it by 2 points after Trump clinched the county by a slim margin against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Ciattarelli won it by 10 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Gloucester County lost 1,800 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 2,102 registered Democrats, and gained 1,735 Republican voters.Hudson County
Democrats: 219,378
Republicans: 43,891
Unaffiliated: 130,123
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in New Jersey and is home to Jersey City, the states second-largest city. Its voters went against Christie in 2013 and supported Murphy four-to-one four years later. It has the largest Murphy-Guadagno voting gap in the state as Murphy won by nearly 63 points over her. He took it by 49 points last year.
Biden took it by 46 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Hudson County lost 7,791 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 11,717 registered Democrats, and lost 1,036 Republican voters.Hunterdon County
Democrats: 29,755
Republicans: 42,361
Unaffiliated: 33,324
Its a Republican county where Democrats have made small gains over the years. Trumps double-digit win in 2016 was cut down to 4 points against Biden. Murphy lost by nearly 10,000 votes against Guadagno and Ciattarelli won it by 19 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Hunterdon County lost 1,916 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county gained 519 registered Democrats, and gained 571 Republican voters.Mercer County
Democrats: 119,696
Republicans: 41,270
Unaffiliated: 97,321
Home to the state capital, Trenton. The residents are mostly Democrats. Biden won here by 40 points and Murphy won last year by 31 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Mercer County lost 1,613 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 1,950 registered Democrats, and lost 376 Republican voters.Middlesex County
Democrats: 242,098
Republicans: 97,519
Unaffiliated: 218,716
Middlesex County looks a lot like its neighbor Mercer County when it comes to registered Democrats and Republicans. The only difference is the numbers are about doubled even if Democrats lost voters and Republicans made gains.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Middlesex County lost 10,918 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 9,365 registered Democrats, and gained 365 Republican voters.Monmouth County
Democats: 141,881
Republicans: 151,280
Unaffiliated: 192,451
Democrats had made gains in recent years in the county that has long been considered a Republican stronghold. But Republicans reign supreme after Trump won by a slim margin and Ciattarelli beat Murphy by 19 points. Murphy lost the county by more than 22,000 votes in 2017.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Monmouth County lost 5,775 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 2,250 registered Democrats, and gained 4,347 Republican voters.Morris County
Democrats: 118,238
Republicans: 135,825
Unaffiliated: 138,701
Registered Republicans outpace Democrats but Biden picked up the county by a small margin after Trump won it in 2016. Murphy lost it by 8 points in 2017 and 11 points in 2021.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Morris County lost 2,375 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county gained 659 registered Democrats, and lost 391 Republican voters.Ocean County
Democrats: 99,602
Republicans: 177,306
Unaffiliated: 176,122
Ocean County is solid red and getting more red. Its the county with the most registered Republicans. There are about 71,500 more registered Republicans in Ocean than there are Democrats and it was the county where Ciattarelli took his largest win 36 points over Murphy last year.
Trump won by his largest margin in New Jersey in Ocean, defeating Clinton by 33 points in 2016 and by 28 points against Biden four years later.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Ocean County lost 3,907 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 2,214 registered Democrats, and gained 6,095 Republican voters.Passaic County
Democrats: 130,707
Republicans: 69,925
Unaffiliated: 123,769
There are nearly twice as many registered Democrats living in Passaic County than Republicans, though Republicans made a modest gain and Murphy won it by only 3 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Passaic County lost 1,729 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 3,138 registered Democrats, and gained 211 Republican voters.Salem County
Democrats: 14,713
Republicans: 14,670
Unaffiliated: 18,312
Salem County is the states least populated county, with only about 62,300 people. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by only 359 people and the GOP has again added more voters.
Trump won it by 15 points in 2016 and nearly 13 points against Biden. Ciattarelli won by 29 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Salem County gained 265 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 133 registered Democrats, and gained 637 Republican voters.Somerset County
Democrats: 90,480
Republicans: 64,139
Unaffiliated: 95,298
Democrats hold an advantage here but their numbers dropped from last year. The county supported Christie twice, but went for Clinton over Trump by 13 points and for Biden by 21 points.
Murphy took it by barely 2 points in 2017 and 4 points in 2021.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Somerset County lost 5,870 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 2,601 registered Democrats, and lost 2,318 Republican voters.Sussex County
Democrats: 26,512
Republicans: 49,131
Unaffiliated: 39,506
Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly two-to-one in what is considered a rock-solid Republican county. Trump carried the county by nearly 30 points in 2016 and 20 points four years later. Ciattarelli won it by 35 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Sussex County lost 478 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 258 registered Democrats, and lost 66 Republican voters.Union County
Democrats: 178,505
Republicans: 59,513
Unaffiliated: 130,827
There are more than 118,600 more registered Democrats living in Union County than there are Republicans. Murphy won it by 24 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Union County gained 8,756 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county gained 185 registered Democrats, and gained 1,621 Republican voters.Warren County
Democrats: 22,598
Republicans: 34,372
Unaffiliated: 26,879
Republicans outpace Democrats by about 11,400 voters in Warren County, where Trump won by 16 points and Ciattarelli by 29 points.
How the county has changed since this time last year: Warren County lost 3,178 unaffiliated voters since October 2021. The county lost 361 registered Democrats, and lost 237 Republican voters.How congressional districts break down for midterm elections
Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to vote in primaries for New Jerseys 12 U.S. House seats. Early voting and vote-by-mail are already underway.
The midterms will decide which party controls Congress next year. New Jerseys congressional districts are held by 10 Democrats and two Republicans.
New Jersey Democrats came out on top earlier this year when the independent redistricting commission adopted their proposal on how to redraw the states 12 congressional districts late last year.
Three of the states four potentially endangered Democratic incumbents now will have safer districts to run in this November, according to David Wasserman, who tracks House races for the Cook Political Report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch.