Democrats build statewide turnout advantage of more than 500,000 votes as Election Day voting continues

Democrats have built a statewide turnout advantage of more than 500,000 votes in New Jersey, with more than two million ballots cast as Election Day voting continues, according to an analysis by Umichvoter.

As of 2:29 PM, 2,062,748 New Jerseyans had voted, including 1,063,716 registered Democrats, 557,674 Republicans, and 441,358 unaffiliated voters.

That gives Democrats a 506,042-vote advantage over Republicans, with Democrats accounting for 52% of all ballots cast, compared with 27% for Republicans and 21% for unaffiliated voters.

Democrats are also outvoting Republicans among those casting ballots on Election Day, 359,946 to 264,553, a margin of 95,393 votes.

The statewide total strongly benefits Cory Booker, who is seeking his third full term in the U.S. Senate against Republican Justin Murphy, the former deputy mayor of Tabernacle.

But Republicans are performing substantially better in several counties where closely watched local races are on the ballot.

In Morris County, where Republicans are fighting to hold a county commissioner seat on the all-Republican board, 29,444 Republicans have voted on Election Day, compared with 20,568 Democrats, giving the GOP an 8,876-vote advantage.  Republicans account for 45% of Election Day turnout, compared with 31% for Democrats.

In Hunterdon County, another battleground for county offices, Republicans hold an even larger percentage advantage. Of the 18,332 Election Day voters, 9,428 are Republicans, and 5,029 are Democrats, giving the GOP a 4,399-vote lead. Republicans account for 51% of the day’s turnout, compared with 27% for Democrats.

Republicans are also running ahead in Monmouth County, where they lead Democrats by 5,402 Election Day voters, 23,437 to 18,035.

The largest Republican advantage is in Ocean County, where 38,507 Republicans have voted compared with 16,805 Democrats, a 21,702-vote margin.

Democrats, meanwhile, are posting overwhelming Election Day turnout advantages in their traditional strongholds.

In Essex County, Democrats lead Republicans by 35,412 votes, 45,541 to 10,129. In Hudson County, the Democratic advantage is 25,622 votes, with 31,804 Democrats voting compared with just 6,182 Republicans.

Democrats also hold substantial leads in Bergen County, where they are ahead by 13,332 votes; Union County, where their advantage is 17,490; and Camden County, where they lead by 13,700.

In Gloucester County, where control of the Board of County Commissioners is at stake, Democrats have a narrower Election Day advantage of 1,672 votes, 12,650 to 10,978.

The statewide numbers remain incomplete. Cape May, Salem, and Sussex counties have not yet reported meaningful Election Day turnout figures, while several other counties are reporting numbers from noon rather than 2 p.m.

The figures represent the party registration of voters who have participated, not votes cast for individual candidates.