New Jersey
Signs Pointed To Trump's Close Race In New Jersey – The Montclarion
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A few days before the election, on a crisp fall morning, I walked through the Oak View section of Bloomfield, an area that’s considered “more Republican” in a town that’s a Democratic stronghold.
Something felt off. Everywhere I looked, there were Trump signs.
This neighborhood, which typically displayed only a few signs for the Republican candidate, was now dotted with flags, banners, and a sea of yard signs showing support for him. Even signs for Democratic mayoral candidate Jenny Mundell were sharing space with Trump’s.
That morning, just days before the election, felt different. The area had the vibe of a battleground state.
While I didn’t think Trump would win Bloomfield, or even New Jersey, the volume of his supporters here felt like a signal of a close race in the state, and a larger red wave nationwide.
And it wasn’t just Bloomfield. I was seeing this across North Jersey.
In towns where Trump signs had been rare, I noticed multiple, with neighbors sometimes in direct opposition to each other, another indication of a battleground mentality.
Since election night, and the narrow five-point difference in votes here, there’s been talk about New Jersey possibly becoming a swing state. While it could be an overreaction to the closeness of this year’s results, I can’t help but hope it’s true.
For years, New Jersey politics have felt like a foregone conclusion. If I vote Democrat, they’ll win, even without my vote; if I vote Republican, they’ll lose, even with my vote. It’s hard to get excited about an election when you already know the outcome.
The state hasn’t sent a Republican to federal office in decades, the last being George H.W. Bush in 1988. However, we have elected Republican governors during that time.
Signs may not vote, but they certainly indicate voter intentions. The growing presence of Trump signs across North Jersey suggested something. Either these towns were becoming Trump territory, or his supporters were becoming more vocal.
Based on the results, it seems to be a mix of both.
I dug deeper into this through a breakdown of the vote from northjersey.com, to see if my suspicions about towns flipping from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024 were correct.
And it’s true Trump gained ground here, 33 towns or about 19% of North Jersey flipped red according to the article.
As expected, Kamala Harris won Bloomfield by a large margin, but Trump did improve his standing slightly. The rest of Essex County stayed blue also as expected but three towns Nutley, West Caldwell, North Caldwell flipped back to Trump.
Morris County though did flipped back after voting for President Biden. I was surprised to see this a little since Vice President Harris did gain ground with richer voters which this county has a lot of.
Five towns there flipped, including Denville, Mount Olive, and Mine Hill.
Other results felt very unexpected, especially in Passaic County, where the entire county flipped along with four of its towns; Little Falls, Hawthorne, Passaic and Clifton.
The latter two, which didn’t feel like they’d vote Republican, shocked me. I don’t remember any signs in these areas.
Across the river in Bergen County, though, it felt different. Twenty one towns there changed their votes from Biden to Trump. In these towns, Trump flags were a common sight. One street in Hasbrouck Heights specifically reminded me of my time in another swing state, Pennsylvania. There Trump flags may have outnumbered the American Flag.
These areas will be important in a competitive swing New Jersey, Republicans will have to hold onto them and the demographic of voters who live there if they want to see the state vote red.
Sussex County on the other hand is solid Trump country, he won every town by generally big margins. I don’t spend much time up there, mostly just hiking. So unless I stumbled upon a “Bears for Trump” sign at High Point, I’m not really qualified to weigh in on the local political climate.
The results show that at least for Donald Trump, North Jersey has become more red.
Two things stood out to me in the results, many of the towns that flipped are in the lower parts of the income bracket for their respective counties. Garfield for example is the 68th richest out of 70 Bergen County municipalities and Mount Olive is the 31st out of the 39 in Morris County. This could be a signal of the continued loss of working class voters for Democrats.
But, many of these towns still kept their Democratic local leaders. A trend which was clear based on the number of houses that displayed both Trump and Democrat signs, including the Little Falls house with the big Trump inflatable. So the question going forward will be, can anyone other than Donald Trump replicate this success?
If Republicans want to keep the dream of a swing state New Jersey alive they’ll have to build on the success of Trump in the cities and working class towns that voted more red this year.
It does appear some candidates, like gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli, are doing this with visits to places like Newark- but will it be enough? Or will the results or lack thereof from the Trump administration next year dictate how the state votes moving forward?
I believe Republicans winning next year’s election and taking control of the governor’s office will be the signal of the state becoming more competitive. But still I don’t think we’ll see a Republican presidential candidate carry the state anytime soon.
While the idea of a more contentious political landscape may be daunting, I can’t help but feel optimistic. New Jersey’s political future may feel more unknown but at least if it becomes a swing state, our votes will all actually matter.
New Jersey
Jersey Shore beach roped off to protect nesting birds just in time for Memorial Day weekend
They took them under their wing.
A large stretch of a Jersey Shore beach is roped off to protect a bird’s nest just in time for Memorial Day weekend.
A pair of American Oystercatchers made their home on the sand in Belmar — and New Jersey Fish and Wildlife is prohibiting beachgoers from trespassing in the area to protect them and their eggs, according to NJ Advance Media.
The agency erected signs at 7th Avenue Beach — one of the most popular spots in Belmar — that say “Do Not Enter,” and explain that the area is a nesting area for the shorebirds, which are protected under federal law.
The placards also warn that “harassing these birds, their eggs or their young” can incur a $50,000 fine or jail time.
The birds are not listed as endangered or threatened species in New Jersey, according to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
However, their status has been to changed to one of “special concern.”
Many on social media agreed with the agency’s efforts to protect the creatures, which are known for their black and white body and long orange-red bill.
“Love love love this!!!! Beautiful birds! One of my favorite!” one gushed.
“Leave that cute birdie alone people,” another added.
Others thought even more safety precautions were needed.
“We should send a biologist or conservation police to guard the area,” one wrote.
DEP officials told the outlet that the length of time the area would be closed will be determined by whether the chicks opt to remain there after hatching.
If the baby birds decide to relocate to another spot on the beach, that new area will be closed off instead, the agency added.
It’s been nearly a decade and a half since the Brooklyn Nets moved out of New Jersey.
The organization has completely revamped its vibe since switching states, ditching the red, white and blue look for a very basic black and white colorway.
The Nets have also intermittently changed the colors of the banners hanging up in the Barclays Center from red, white and blue to black and white, much to the chagrin of traditional Nets fans.
Despite the Nets now playing in a bigger market and being far removed from their days in the Garden State, some fans seem to hope for the Nets to make their return across the river. New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill was asked about the matter.
“I mean, would I support it? I ask about it all the time,” Sherrill said. “I love the idea. So, I have been pressing for that. I haven’t made a lot of headway yet; you know, maybe in my second 100 days.
“But I do think there is some work being done for some — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say too much about it — but some people are working on some different sports coming into the Rock.”
As time went on, the Nets eventually started to embrace more of their New Jersey roots, which started when they rocked a clean tie-dye jersey from the 90s during the 2020-21 season.
The next season, the Nets followed it up with uniforms commemorating their run in the 2000s, when the team got to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and endlessly broke the ESPN top 10 with each crazy Jason Kidd assist and Vince Carter dunk.
It’s fitting that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the latter of whom grew up in New Jersey as a Nets fan, got to rock these uniforms, helping boost the popularity of the New Jersey brand to a wide array of fans.
True Nets fans embraced the Continental Airlines Arena/Izod Center and the swamps of East Rutherford, getting to witness a winning basketball team for a fraction of the cost of the team mired in dysfunction that happened to play their home games at “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”
Not many marquee free agents would have signed up to play in New Jersey, but real fans remember the good times in the swamps, especially with Sly the Fox as the team’s mascot. Those times deserve to be remembered properly.
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ATLANTIC COUNTY, N.J. (WPVI) — Drivers heading to the shore on Friday afternoon saw slow-moving traffic for several miles coming off the Walt Whitman bridge, but many travelers said the start of the holiday weekend was smoother than they anticipated.
Aldara Madden, who was traveling with her friend Elana Maser, said the trip moved faster than she expected.
“I was expecting it to take a lot longer,” she said.
Maser added that they left school early to avoid delays.
“My mom and I do that every year and then we always stop here as our little pre-down the shore,” she said.
Others shared similar experiences.
“I’m coming from Bucks County, so I was worried there was gonna be some traffic but it really wasn’t bad at all,” said Erin McFadden of Churchville, who was headed to Ocean City.
AAA reported that while slightly more people are traveling by car this year compared to last, 2026 is projected to have the lowest year-over-year travel growth rate in more than a decade, excluding the steep drop seen in 2020 during the pandemic.
The organization attributes the slowdown largely to concerns over rising prices.
“Gas is ridiculously expensive and I think all the time before going anywhere these days,” said Debbie Maser of Philadelphia. “But this is our happy place and nothing can keep us away.”
A dreary weekend forecast may also be influencing travel patterns.
“I was thinking that, I wonder if there’ll be less congestion on the roads because of the weather,” said Kyra Wolin of Massachusetts. “It’s not looking to be too good this weekend with the rain.”
Still, many shore-bound travelers said tradition outweighs any concerns about rain or crowds.
“No not at all. You go down. You get it done,” said George Miller of Lansdale.
Eric Wolin of Massachusetts agreed: “Never, never. Margate’s a special place for us.”
As the unofficial start of summer begins, travelers said they remain committed to kicking off the season in their favorite spots, not letting rain, traffic, or high prices keep them away.
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