For this November 5th elections, the country’s voters selected candidates for President, the US Senate, and the House of Representatives. The big news is exceptional given its implications: former President Donald Trump will return to the White House and Republicans will control the Senate.
With a Republican majority in the Senate, Trump will be able to easily secure his judicial and Executive branch appointments (such as cabinet or ambassador positions) since only the Senate has a role in those appointments.
This bi-cameral unity between the Executive and the Senate branches may extend to all three branches of government if the results of the elections for the House of Representations indicate that the Republicans won that too. But as of this writing, the tally for the House of Representatives has not been completed.
What might the changes in the White House and in Congress mean for our industry?
The Trump campaign was inclined towards regulatory reform to downscale governmental overreach.
This Trump victory has significant implications for the automobile industry, opening the door to revisiting EV manufacturing and EV infrastructure policies, and existing federal regulations on a wide swath of Biden era-initiatives (such as the Vehicle Shopping Rule, currently stalled in litigation through the advocacy efforts of NADA) and California’s initiatives enabled by the Environmental Protection Agency such as the Advanced Clean Cars Rules and Advanced Clean Trucks Rule.
Indeed, in his first Administration, Trump unsuccessfully sought to reign in federal government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, an effort he will likely repeat once in office.
The potential to reverse in the second Trump Administration (with potentially a total Republican Congress) overreaching federal legislation and regulations will be of interest to our franchise dealers.
NJ CAR will continue to work closely with NADA to secure our interests in Washington, D.C. A possible threat, however, may come from the partnership between Elon Musk and Trump during the campaign. Indeed, the election results may encourage direct sales advocates to seek Trump’s assistance in undoing state franchise protections.
Where do we stand on the State Congressional elections?
The results of the elections for the New Jersey 12 Congressional Districts and 2 Senate seats indicate all Congressional incumbents will return in 2025:
Congressional
Winners for Each District (*Incumbent)
*Rep. Donald Norcross (D)
*Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R)
(Current State Asm.) Herb Conaway
*Rep. Chris Smith (R)
*Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D)
*Rep. Frank Pallone (D)
*Rep. Tom Kean (R)
*Rep. Rob Menendez
(Current State Asw.) Nellie Pou (D) to fill the vacancy resulting from Congressman Pascrell’s death in August.
*Rep. LaMonica McIver
*Rep. Mikie Sherrill
*Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
Senators
*Sen. Cory Booker (D)
(Current Congressional Rep.) Andy Kim (D)
Of those races, Congressional District 7 and one of the Senate seats were political fodder for government and media pundits.
The competitive election for the Congressional representation of Congressional District 7 pitted first term Republican Congressman Tom Kean against newcomer Democrat Sue Altman, former professional basketball player and Executive Director of New Jersey Working Family Alliance. But ultimately Congressman Kean succeeded in retaining his seat. This district includes all of Hunterdon and Warren counties plus parts of Morris County, Somerset County, Sussex County, and Union County.
For the much-watched Senate race, all eyes turned south. Representative Andy Kim — currently representing parts of Burlington, Mercer County, and Monmouth County — prevailed over hotel developer Curtis Bashaw in the contest to win the Congressional Senate seat vacated by former Senator Bob Menendez. Menendez resigned in August 2024 after being convicted of bribery and being a foreign agent.
To fill the vacancy immediately, Governor Murphy appointed former Chief of Staff George Helmy as temporary Senator pending the results of the Senate elections. If Kim is sworn in upon certification of the election results rather than in January with the other Senators, he will have seniority over the new Senators.
Once installed for his first six-year term as a New Jersey senator, Kim will join Senator Cory Booker — now New Jersey’s senior Senator — who was elected in 2013.
The vacancy created by Kim’s candidacy for the Senate opened an opportunity for incumbent State Assemblyman Herb Conaway to vie for the Congressional seat. Challenged by fellow medical doctor Rajesh Mohan, Assemblyman Conaway has succeeded to be the new Congressional Representative.
NJ CAR will continue monitoring the election results and will continue to work closely with our national partners such as NADA to continue protecting and advancing the interests of our members.