Numbers

Facts

Review facts about the number of New Jersey women in politics, compiled by colleagues at Eagleton's Center for American Women and Politics:

Level of Office
Women
Comments in 2004
Congress
0
As a result of the 2002 election, the New Jersey Congressional delegation does not include any women. This is the first   time this has occurred since 1975. Before 1975, there was only a short gap in the 1950s when New Jersey did not have a woman in the U.S. House of Representatives since Mary Teresa Norton (D-Hudson) served from 1925 to 1951. New Jersey has never had a woman U.S. Senator.
Governor
0
New Jersey is one of 26 states that has ever had a woman governor. Christine Todd Whitman, New Jersey's first and only woman governor, was the second Republican woman in the nation to be elected governor. Currently, 8 states are led by women governors (Louisiana, Michigan, Hawaii, Montana, Delaware, Arizona, Kansas and Utah).
Cabinet
5
Governor McGreevey has five women serving in his cabinet. This represents 27 percent of his 19 member cabinet.
Legislature
19
Women make up 15.8% the New Jersey Legislature. New Jersey ranks 43rd among the 50 states in the proportion of women serving in its legislature. Women hold 6 of the 40 available Senate seats and 13 of the 40 available Assembly seats.
Freeholders
36
26.3 percent of New Jersey's 137 county freeholders are women. Five women serve as freeholder directors or chairs. Four counties have no women freeholders (Cape May, Hudson, Ocean and Warren).
County Officials
23
34.8 percent of the 66 elected positions known as constitutional officers are held by women. They include county clerks, registers, sheriff and surrogate.
Mayors
72
12.7 percent of New Jersey's 566 municipalities are headed by women. There are women mayors in all but three counties (Atlantic, Hudson and Salem).
County Party Chairs
4
Two women chair Democratic County Committees (Salem and Union) and two women chair Republican County Committees (Camden and Salem). In addition, The chair of the Democratic State Committee is a woman, Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman.