Jay Webber

James K. "Jay" Webber[1] (born February 29, 1972) is an American lawyer and Republican politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 8, 2008, where he represents the 26th legislative district. Webber has served in the Assembly as the Minority Appropriations Officer since 2018.[2]

Jay Webber
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 26th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2008
Serving with Alex DeCroce (2008–2012)
BettyLou DeCroce (2012–2022)
Christian Barranco (2022–2024)
Brian Bergen (2024–present)
Preceded byJoseph Pennacchio
Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee
In office
June 17, 2009 – January 11, 2011
Preceded byTom Wilson
Succeeded bySam Raia
Personal details
Born (1972-02-29) February 29, 1972 (age 52)
Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJohanna
Children8
ResidenceMorris Plains, New Jersey
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)
WebsiteLegislative Website

Early life and education

Webber was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. Raised in Clifton, he attended Saint Joseph Regional High School.[3] He received a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and a Second Team All-American in baseball.[4][2] He served as Budget Staffer and District Director to William J. Martini during his term in Congress.[5] After leaving Congressman Martini's office, Webber was a staff member at the Manhattan Institute.[5] Webber earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School[2] and clerked for New Jersey Supreme Court justice Peter Verniero.[6][7]

New Jersey Senate campaign

At age 30 in 2003, Webber ran in the Republican primary against incumbent state senator Robert Martin by running to the right of the senator.[6] Martin defeated Webber by approximately 1,900 votes, 15 percentage points from the total vote.[8]

New Jersey Assembly

In 2007, following Martin's retirement from the Senate and incumbent Assemblyman Joseph Pennacchio deciding to run for Martin's seat, Webber ran in the Republican primary for Pennacchio's Assembly seat. Incumbent Alex DeCroce took the most votes in the June primary (9,833 votes or 41.1%) while Webber advanced to the November general election by coming in second (7,679 votes, 32.2%) defeating Kinnelon councilman Larry Casha (6,369 votes, 26.7%).[9][10] Webber was elected in the general election and has subsequently been re-elected every two years since then.

Committees

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[2]

  • Appropriations
  • Financial Institutions and Insurance

District 26

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[11] The representatives from the 26th District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[12]

New Jersey Republican Party chairmanship

On June 11, 2009, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie announced his selection of Webber to succeed Tom Wilson as chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.[13] State Committee members unanimously supported the selection of Webber in a vote on June 17, 2009.[14] Webber announced that he would be leaving the Chairman's post in January 2011, and was succeeded by Sam Raia.[15]

2018 U.S. House campaign

On February 3, 2018, Webber announced he would officially run for the U.S. House seat representing New Jersey's 11th congressional district, after incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen announced on January 29 that he would not seek reelection. Webber received the Republican Party nomination in the June 6 primary election, defeating Anthony Ghee and Peter DeNeufville.[16] He was defeated by Democratic nominee Mikie Sherrill in the November general election. Sherrill won 56.2% of the vote to Webber's 42.7%, defeating him by 13.5%, a 33 percentage-point shift in the vote share towards the Democrat compared to the last election. It was the largest partisan swing of any district in the 2018 House Elections.[17]

Personal life

He is married to Johanna, with whom he has eight children. He is a resident of Morris Plains. He owns a law firm based in Whippany.

Electoral history

General Assembly

26th Legislative District General Election, 2023[18]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanJay Webber (incumbent) 28,146 28.7
RepublicanBrian Bergen (incumbent) 27,831 28.3
DemocraticJohn Van Achen21,26321.7
DemocraticWalter Mielarczyk20,96221.4
Total votes98,202 100.0
Republican hold
Republican hold
26th Legislative District General Election, 2021[19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanJay Webber (incumbent) 46,239 29.98%
RepublicanChristian E. Barranco 45,224 29.32%
DemocraticPamela Fadden31,43420.38%
DemocraticMelissa Brown Blaeuer31,35520.33%
Total votes154,252 100.0
Republican hold
26th Legislative District General Election, 2019[20]
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanBettyLou DeCroce (incumbent) 24,706 28.5%
RepublicanJay Webber (incumbent) 24,451 28.21%
DemocraticChristine Clarke18,81321.7%
DemocraticLaura Fortgang18,71121.59%
Total votes86,681 100%
Republican hold
New Jersey general election, 2017
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanJay Webber 31,810 28.2 2.1
RepublicanBettyLou DeCroce 31,766 28.2 1.9
DemocraticJoseph R. Raich24,73222.0 2.6
DemocraticE. William Edge24,36221.6 2.8
Total votes'112,670' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2015
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanJay Webber 13,739 30.3 2.3
RepublicanBettyLou DeCroce 13,666 30.1 2.8
DemocraticAvery Hart8,80519.4 2.0
DemocraticWayne B. Marek8,52518.8 1.7
GreenJimmy D. Brash6661.5N/A
Total votes'45,401' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2013
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanBettyLou DeCroce 35,352 32.9 0.9
RepublicanJay Webber 35,028 32.6 1.2
DemocraticElliot Isibor18,72017.4 0.6
DemocraticJoseph Raich18,37917.1 0.5
Total votes'107,479' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2011
PartyCandidateVotes%
RepublicanAlex DeCroce 19,696 32.0
RepublicanJay Webber 19,543 31.8
DemocraticJoseph Raich10,84717.6
DemocraticElliot Isibor10,31916.8
GreenMichael Spector1,0951.8
Total votes61,500 100.0
New Jersey general election, 2009
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanAlex DeCroce 43,647 34.7 2.6
RepublicanJay Webber 42,077 33.4 2.6
DemocraticWayne B. Marek20,10716.0 0.9
DemocraticDouglas Herbert20,01515.9 1.2
Total votes'125,846' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2007
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
RepublicanAlex DeCroce 25,342 32.1 1.9
RepublicanJay Webber 24,307 30.8 1.7
DemocraticDavid Modrak13,48817.1 3.0
DemocraticWayne Marek13,30816.9 2.5
GreenMichael Spector9711.2N/A
GreenMatthew Norton9351.2N/A
LibertarianKenneth Kaplan5770.7 0.1
Total votes'78,928' '100.0'

United States House of Representatives

New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2018
PartyCandidateVotes%
DemocraticMikie Sherrill 183,684 56.8
RepublicanJay Webber136,32242.1
IndependentRobert Crook2,1820.7
LibertarianRyan Martinez1,3860.4
Total votes323,574 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

References

External links

New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 26th district

January 8, 2008–present
Served alongside: Alex DeCroce, BettyLou DeCroce, Christian Barranco
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the New Jersey Republican Party
June 11, 2009–January 11, 2011
Succeeded by