Clenard Childress Jr.

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Clenard Childress Jr.

---

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 7, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Northern Baptist School of Religion

Personal

Religion

Faith In Christ

Profession

Clergy

Contact

Personal LinkedIn

Clenard Childress Jr. (Republican Party) ran for election to the New Jersey General Assembly to represent District 34. He lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.

Biography

Childress graduated from Northern Baptist School of Religion in 1986 with a major in Christian education. He has served as a senior pastor. Childress' career experience includes working in executive food sales.

Elections

2023

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2023

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Michael Venezia and Carmen Morales defeated James McGuire and Clenard Childress Jr. in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Venezia (D)	38.8	18,400
✔		Carmen Morales (D)	38.3	18,173
	Submit photo	James McGuire (R)	11.8	5,597
	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr. (R)	11.1	5,241

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,411
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Carmen Morales and Michael Venezia advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Carmen Morales	50.3	8,332
✔	Submit photo	Michael Venezia	49.7	8,238

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

James McGuire and Clenard Childress Jr. advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 6, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	James McGuire	66.7	791
✔	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr.	33.3	395

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,186
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Childress in this election.

2022

See also: New Jersey's 10th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House New Jersey District 10

Incumbent Donald Payne Jr. defeated David Pinckney, Cynthia Johnson, Kendal Ludden, and Clenard Childress Jr. in the general election for U.S. House New Jersey District 10 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donald Payne Jr. (D)	77.6	100,710
	Submit photo	David Pinckney (R)	20.0	25,993
		Cynthia Johnson (Jobs and Justice)	1.5	1,989
	Submit photo	Kendal Ludden (L)	0.5	634
	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr. (The Mahali Party)	0.3	381

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 129,707
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Dorothy Jane Humphries (Together We Can)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 10

Incumbent Donald Payne Jr. defeated Imani Oakley and Akil Khalfani in the Democratic primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 10 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Donald Payne Jr.	83.3	29,680
		Imani Oakley	10.6	3,764
		Akil Khalfani	6.1	2,169

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,613
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 10

David Pinckney defeated Garth Stewart in the Republican primary for U.S. House New Jersey District 10 on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	David Pinckney	82.5	3,581
	Submit photo	Garth Stewart	17.5	760

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,341
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2021

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2021

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Incumbent Thomas Giblin and incumbent Britnee Timberlake defeated Irene DeVita, Tafari Anderson, and Clenard Childress Jr. in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Giblin (D)	39.3	36,717
✔		Britnee Timberlake (D)	38.9	36,392
		Irene DeVita (R)	10.8	10,107
		Tafari Anderson (R)	10.5	9,830
	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr. (Stop The Insanity! Party)	0.4	401

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 93,447
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Incumbent Thomas Giblin and incumbent Britnee Timberlake advanced from the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Giblin	50.2	11,122
✔		Britnee Timberlake	49.8	11,023

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,145
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Irene DeVita and Tafari Anderson advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 8, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Irene DeVita	50.7	1,556
✔		Tafari Anderson	49.3	1,511

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,067
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2019

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2019

General election

General election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Incumbent Thomas Giblin and incumbent Britnee Timberlake defeated Bharat Rana, Irene DeVita, and Clenard Childress Jr. in the general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Giblin (D)	41.9	19,012
✔		Britnee Timberlake (D)	41.0	18,593
		Bharat Rana (R)	7.9	3,596
		Irene DeVita (R)	7.8	3,527
	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr. (Stop The Insanity! Party)	1.4	658

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 45,386
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Incumbent Thomas Giblin and incumbent Britnee Timberlake defeated Simone Jelks-Bandison in the Democratic primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thomas Giblin	44.5	7,935
✔		Britnee Timberlake	44.2	7,894
		Simone Jelks-Bandison	11.3	2,019

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,848
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 (2 seats)

Bharat Rana and Irene DeVita advanced from the Republican primary for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on June 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bharat Rana	50.5	532
✔		Irene DeVita	49.5	521

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,053
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: New Jersey state legislative special elections, 2018

A special election for District 34 of the New Jersey General Assembly was called for November 6, 2018.

The seat became vacant after Sheila Oliver (D) was sworn in as lieutenant governor of New Jersey. Britnee Timberlake (D) was appointed to fill the seat after Oliver's resignation.

General election

Special general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34

Incumbent Britnee Timberlake defeated Irene DeVita and Clenard Childress Jr. in the special general election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Britnee Timberlake (D)	81.9	53,837
		Irene DeVita (R)	16.6	10,920
	Submit photo	Clenard Childress Jr. (Stop the Insanity Party)	1.5	983

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,740
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2015

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2015

Elections for the New Jersey General Assembly took place in 2015. A primary election was held on June 2, 2015. The general election took place on November 3, 2015. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 30, 2015. Since the general assembly uses multi-member districts, the top two candidates from each party in the primaries advanced to the general election. Incumbent Sheila Oliver and incumbent Thomas Giblin were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Democratic primary. John Traier and Louis Rodriguez were bracketed together and were unopposed in the Republican primary. Rodriguez withdrew following the primary. Oliver and Giblin defeated Traier and Clenard Childress (A Better Tomorrow) in the general election.

New Jersey General Assembly, District 34 General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Thomas Giblin Incumbent	42.3%	13,436
	Democratic	Sheila Oliver Incumbent	41.9%	13,294
	Republican	John Traier	12.7%	4,025
	A Better Tomorrow	Clenard Childress	3.1%	977
Total Votes				31,732

2013

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2013

Childress ran in the 2013 election for New Jersey General Assembly District 34. Childress was defeated by Sheila Y. Oliver, Thomas P. Giblin, Rayfield Morton, Anthony Moye, Denise Baskerville and Beverly K. Williams in the June 4 Democratic primary. The general election took place on November 5, 2013.

New Jersey General Assembly, District 34, Democratic Primary, 2013
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sheila Oliver Incumbent	37%	10,820
Thomas Giblin Incumbent	33.6%	9,808
Denise Baskerville	10.3%	2,996
Beverly Williams	9.6%	2,797
Rayfield Morton	4.5%	1,303
Anthony Moye	4.2%	1,240
Clenard Childress	0.9%	264
Total Votes		29,228

2011

See also: New Jersey General Assembly elections, 2011

Childress was an independent candidate for District 34 of the New Jersey General Assembly. He was defeated in the November 8 general election. Incumbents Sheila Oliver and Thomas Giblin ran unopposed in the Democratic Primary on June 7. Steve Farrell and Joan Salensky defeated Randy Colondres and Rick Farfan in the Democratic primary. David Taylor ran as an independent in the November 8 general election as well.

New Jersey General Assembly District 34 General Election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Thomas Giblin Incumbent	39.1%	16,285
	Democratic	Sheila Oliver Incumbent	37.1%	15,462
	Democratic	Steve Farrell	10.2%	4,270
	Democratic	Joan Salensky	10.2%	4,251
	Independent	Clenard Childress	2%	813
	Independent	David Taylor	1.4%	586
Total Votes				41,667

2009

Childress was bracketed with David Taylor, Jr. and lost to Democratic incumbents Thomas Giblin and Sheila Oliver. Also running were Republican candidates Michael Mecca, III and Matthew Tyhala.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Clenard Childress Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Clenard Childress Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

Clenard Childress Jr. did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Clenard Childress Jr. completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Childress' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Rev Clenard H. Childress, I am running for Assembly of the 34th district, "How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality." - Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963) Parental Choice in Education: Education is a civil right and when there're failing public schools we have failed as a society. The late, Democrat advocate Dan Gabey audited the Newark public school and it showed the public was paying 32,000 dollars per student and yet there are multiple failing schools. Private and Parochial schools are providing excellent education for one third the cost. School choice would allow the money to follow the child and Parent choose the school. It's an alternative to a failing system that's regulating our children to a mediocre education and an uncertain future. Parental Notification: It is grossly negligent for a school system to have the legal right to remove a pregnant teen from a school to have an abortion without the knowledge of the parent. Abortion has physiological and psychological ramifications and should require the parent's knowledge and permission. The health history of the child and family members needs to be considered before any child going under such a procedure. Changing the way we fund our schools would lowe

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Parental School Choice
• Parental Notification
• No New Taxes

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Social Justice Issues

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Jesus and Martin Luther King in that order, they pursued justice.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The life and story of Rev Dr. Martin Luther King.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Trustworthy, Loyal, courteous, kind, brave, clean and reverent.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I Served The People

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Cuban Missal Crisis, 9

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Institutional Food Sales, for 20 years

What is your favorite book? Why?

Survey Through The New Testament by Fulton Sheen, changed my life!

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Spiderman

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Chattanooga Choo Choo

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Despair over our youth

What is the first action you would take as president of the United States?

ensure religious freedom and free speech.

Why should people vote for you instead of one of your opponents?

I believe the constitution and not my party is the answer to saving the nation.

What should a 28th Amendment to the Constitution say?

That we vow to keep the previous amendments

What do you support that the majority of your party opposes?

I am an independent

What previous president do you admire most?

Not so much for his personal life but for his profiles in courage JFK- He took on the military complex

What would you consider to be the greatest strength of each of the last four presidents (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump)? Is there anything you would seek to emulate from one or more of them?

Clinton is the most consummate politician in our times. He would win today of he ran
Bush learned more in office than probably most Presidents ever due to the challenge of 9/11- becoming better in the crisis
Obama's greatest strength was at time his oratory delivery
Trump much like JFK the courage to take on the status Quo

What is the most important policy issue none of your competitors are talking about?

TAX REFORM

If you could have any career outside of political life, what would it be?

Social Worker In Prison

What is a policy you have changed your position on over time? Why did it change?

Engaging in war around the world, I changed because I see America has been given much and much is required. Evil would prevail if we didn't engage in many instances.

What qualities would you look for in a running mate? What qualities would you look for to fill Cabinet positions?

Prepared to serve the people and willing to stay the coarse, the same for cabinet positions

Who was your childhood hero?

ZORO

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2013

Childress listed three major campaign themes on his official campaign website:

• School Choice
• Tax Reform
• Traditional Marriage

See also

2023 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the New Jersey General Assembly

Leadership

Representatives

District 1

Antwan McClellan (R)

Erik Simonsen (R)

District 2

Don Guardian (R)

Claire Swift (R)

District 3

Dave Bailey (D)

Heather Simmons (D)

District 4

Dan Hutchison (D)

Cody Miller (D)

District 5

William Moen (D)

William Spearman (D)

District 6

Louis Greenwald (D)

Melinda Kane (D)

District 7

Carol Murphy (D)

Balvir Singh (D)

District 8

Andrea Katz (D)

Michael Torrissi (R)

District 9

Gregory Myhre (R)

Brian Rumpf (R)

District 10

Paul Kanitra (R)

Gregory McGuckin (R)

District 11

Margie Donlon (D)

Luanne Peterpaul (D)

District 12

Robert Clifton (R)

Alex Sauickie (R)

District 13

Victoria Flynn (R)

Gerard Scharfenberger (R)

District 14

Wayne DeAngelo (D)

Tennille McCoy (D)

District 15

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)

Anthony Verrelli (D)

District 16

Mitchelle Drulis (D)

Roy Freiman (D)

District 17

Joseph Danielsen (D)

Kevin Egan (D)

District 18

Robert Karabinchak (D)

Sterley Stanley (D)

District 19

Craig Coughlin (D)

Yvonne Lopez (D)

District 20

Reginald Atkins (D)

Annette Quijano (D)

District 21

Michele Matsikoudis (R)

Nancy Muñoz (R)

District 22

Linda Carter (D)

James Kennedy (D)

District 23

John DiMaio (R)

Erik Peterson (R)

District 24

Dawn Fantasia (R)

Michael Inganamort (R)

District 25

Christian Barranco (R)

Aura Dunn (R)

District 26

Brian Bergen (R)

Jay Webber (R)

District 27

Rosy Bagolie (D)

Alixon Collazos-Gill (D)

District 28

Garnet Hall (D)

Cleopatra Tucker (D)

District 29

Eliana Marin (D)

Shanique Speight (D)

District 30

Sean Kean (R)

Avi Schnall (D)

District 31

William Sampson (D)

Barbara Stamato (D)

District 32

John Allen (D)

Jessica Ramirez (D)

District 33

Julio Marenco (D)

Gabriel Rodriguez (D)

District 34

Carmen Morales (D)

Michael Venezia (D)

District 35

Alaa Abdelaziz (D)

Shavonda Sumter (D)

District 36

Clinton Calabrese (D)

Gary Schaer (D)

District 37

Shama Haider (D)

Ellen Park (D)

District 38

Lisa Swain (D)

Chris Tully (D)

District 39

Robert Auth (R)

John Azzariti (R)

District 40

Al Barlas (R)

Christopher DePhillips (R)

Democratic Party (52)

Republican Party (28)