New Jersey’s 33rd Legislative District lies along the Hudson River and its boundaries changed as a result of the recent reapportionment. It now covers Guttenberg, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken and West New York in Hudson County.
Long a blue district, Democrats make up 58% of the registered voters, while 11% are Republicans and most of the rest are unaffiliated.
The Republican party did not field any candidates in the 33rd, but there is an independent running in each race.
Sen. Brian Stack, a Democrat who joined the Senate in 2008 and is also the mayor of Union City, is the only one of three current lawmakers seeking reelection in the district. He will face third-party candidate Joanne Kuniansky, who is running as a member of the Socialist Workers Party and recently ran unsuccessfully governor.
Because of changes in the district, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji is running for the open Senate seat in the neighboring 32nd District and Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro decided to bow out after losing the endorsement of the Hudson County Democratic Organization. Instead, the party is running Julio Marenco, a North Bergen commissioner, and Gabriel Rodriguez, the current mayor of West New York, for Assembly. Another Socialist Workers Party candidate, Lea Sherman, is also running for the Assembly.