akashic
1876–2024
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County·New Jersey

Somerset County changed direction in the last decade.

Once a reliably Republican suburb, now a steady Democratic margin

18762024·38 elections
Somerset County, New Jersey · Zeete · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+14
in 2024
Archetype
Recent convert
since the recent cycles
Population
349,846
2024 ACS
Most similar
Prince William County
VA · similarity 0.97
267 precincts · 178,343 votes cast
Harris · D+14
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+13.8%
98,79074,101178,343
2020D
+21.2%
111,17371,996184,810
2016D
+12.8%
85,68965,505157,092
2012D
+5.6%
74,59266,603143,180
2008D
+6.1%
79,32170,085151,078
2004R
−4.3%
66,47672,508140,279
2000R
−2.9%
56,23259,725120,377
1996R
−1.1%
50,67351,869112,929
1992R
−10.9%
42,86756,044120,813
1988R
−28.5%
37,40667,658106,193
1984R
−34.6%
31,92466,30399,296
1980R
−25.2%
29,47052,59191,928
1976R
−16.7%
36,25851,26089,691
1972R
−35.0%
26,53756,52485,605
1968R
−19.0%
27,58042,45978,475
1964D
+21.1%
43,65928,41672,270
1960R
−11.9%
28,48936,20064,863
1956R
−44.3%
14,52937,93052,789
1952R
−26.8%
18,00731,23949,320
1948R
−21.5%
14,10422,03436,862
1944R
−16.7%
14,46720,26634,770
1940R
−10.0%
16,49020,16936,755
1936D
+0.6%
15,98715,80631,887
1932R
−10.5%
12,34515,31728,273
1928R
−33.6%
8,12016,38624,580
1924R
−48.4%
4,14312,98618,260
1920R
−43.9%
4,19210,96215,435
1916R
−12.5%
3,6534,7078,451
1912D
+14.6%
3,1462,0687,402
1908R
−20.9%
3,2715,0438,485
1904R
−17.9%
3,1954,6338,029
1900R
−15.9%
3,1834,4387,878
1896R
−24.4%
2,6084,3887,291
1892D
+0.9%
3,4083,3426,975
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.5%
African American
7.6%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
28.8%
Non-Christian
8.9%
Other Christian
4.0%
Mainline Protestant
3.7%
Baptist
3.2%
Methodist
1.0%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.6%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Somerset County's transformation tracks a broader pattern in affluent suburban New Jersey: college-educated voters shifted the presidential margin to D+13.9 in 2024, a reversal from its Republican-leaning baseline of the early 2000s.

The 2008 election was the turning point, when the Democratic candidate carried the county by six points. The 2024 margin was fourteen points, in line with the county's new direction.

The demographics suggest why. A population of 349,846, a 52% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $140,374 situate the county in the broader realignment patterns of recent cycles. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Prince William County and Henrico County.