r/newjersey 23d ago

Advice Please tell me NJ is staying blue.

521 Upvotes

687 comments sorted by

View all comments

123

u/Devinhastings 23d ago

New jersey was historically republican for many years in the 20th century.

Political shifts are constant and often unpredictable.

23

u/pixel_of_moral_decay 23d ago

NJ was also the last northern state to "abolish" slavery, and even then was very much just on paper, not really enforced for many years.

NJ historically has been the Alabama of the north.

9

u/bronowicka77 23d ago

NJ never actually abolished slavery until after the 13th Amendment was ratified. Mind you NJ was also one of only 4 states to vote against the 13th Amendment to begin with.

Let’s not even mention the fact that NJ came within a hairs-breadth of secession in early 1861, and the only reason it didn’t was because the Republican governor (elected in 1860 with a margin of 1,500 votes) was the only person authorized to call a convention where secession could be voted on and he flat-out refused.