Pivot Counties in New Jersey
| 2020 Election Analysis: Pivot Counties |
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Retained • Boomerang Margins of victory Voter turnout Demographics |
Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties.
Following the 2016 presidential election, New Jersey had two Pivot Counties.
Ballotpedia defines Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot Counties.
After the 2020 presidential election, the state had one Retained Pivot County and one Boomerang Pivot County.
List of Pivot Counties
The table below lists the Pivot Counties in New Jersey. These counties accounted for 9.52 percent of the total counties in New Jersey, and 4 percent of the state population.
| Analysis of New Jersey counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 following the 2020 presidential election[1] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | State | Winner, 2020 | Margin of Victory, 2020 | Trump Margin of Victory, 2016 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2012 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2008 | |
| Gloucester County | New Jersey | Boomerang | +1.94 | +0.48 | +10.77 | +12.16 | |
| Salem County | New Jersey | Retained | +12.77 | +15 | +1.31 | +3.92 | |
The map below shows the Retained and Boomerang Pivot County in New Jersey shaded bright red and blue, respectively.
2020 analysis
Voter turnout
New Jersey has two Pivot Counties, 9.5% of the state's 21 total counties. Of those two Pivot Counties, the state has one Retained Pivot County and one Boomerang Pivot County, responsible for 0.75% and 3.80% of the statewide turnout, respectively.
| Voter turnout in New Jersey and its Pivot Counties | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Overview | ||||||
| New Jersey | 4,564,216 | 6,117,610 | 74.61% | - | ||
| Retained Pivot County | 34,056 | 47,940 | 71.01% | 0.75% | ||
| Boomerang Pivot County | 173,453 | 221,040 | 78.47% | 3.80% | ||
| County-specific | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Gloucester | 173,453 | 221,040 | 78.47% | 3.80% | ||
| Salem | 34,056 | 47,940 | 71.04% | 0.75% | ||
Demographics
This table displays demographic data, on average, by county compared to nationwide and statewide averages with a focus on Pivot Counties. Use the arrows at the top of the table to view 2016 data and changes from 2016 to 2020. Full demographic data can be found here.
2016 analysis
Voting trends
The table below details the voting trends of the Pivot Counties in New Jersey since 1960.
| Presidential Elections in New Jersey Pivot Counties since 1960 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Elections won by Republican Presidential candidate | Elections won by Democratic Presidential candidate | Elections matching national result | |||
| Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | |
| Gloucester County, New Jersey | 7 | 46.67% | 8 | 53.33% | 12 | 80.00% |
| Salem County, New Jersey | 9 | 60.00% | 6 | 40.00% | 12 | 80.00% |
| Average | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 12 | 80.00% |
| Median | 8 | 53.33% | 7 | 46.67% | 12 | 80.00% |
2016 election results
In 2016, New Jersey had 14 electoral votes, which was 2.6 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 5.2 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election. Presidential primary elections in New Jersey took place on June 7, 2016. Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary with 63.2 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 80.4 percent.
General election
| U.S. presidential election, New Jersey, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
55.5% | 2,148,278 | 14 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 41.4% | 1,601,933 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 1.9% | 72,477 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1% | 37,772 | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley | 0.2% | 6,161 | 0 | |
| Socialist Workers | Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart | 0.1% | 2,156 | 0 | |
| American Delta | Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0% | 1,838 | 0 | |
| Workers World | Monica Moorehead/Lamont Lilly | 0% | 1,749 | 0 | |
| Socialism and Liberation | Gloria Estela La Riva/Eugene Puryear | 0% | 1,682 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 3,874,046 | 14 | |||
| Election results via: New Jersey Department of State | |||||
Primaries
| New Jersey Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Hillary Clinton |
63.2% | 554,237 | 79 | |
| Bernie Sanders | 36.8% | 323,259 | 47 | |
| Totals | 877,496 | 126 | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||||
| New Jersey Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
80.4% | 356,697 | 51 | |
| John Kasich | 13.4% | 59,506 | 0 | |
| Ted Cruz | 6.2% | 27,521 | 0 | |
| Totals | 443,724 | 51 | ||
| Source: The New York Times | ||||
See also
- List of Pivot Counties - the 206 counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump
- Pivot Counties by state
- Presidential election, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ This analysis does not include counties in Alaska and certain independent cities due to variations in vote total reporting.
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