Jay Webber

James K. "Jay" Webber[1] (born February 29, 1972) is an American 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-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
Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJohanna
Children8
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 the retirement of Martin 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 current 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 2022—23 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

New Jersey Assembly
26th Legislative District General Election, 2021[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jay Webber (incumbent) 46,239 29.98%
Republican Christian E. Barranco 45,224 29.32%
Democratic Pamela Fadden 31,434 20.38%
Democratic Melissa Brown Blaeuer 31,355 20.33%
Total votes 154,252 100.0
Republican hold
26th Legislative District General Election, 2019[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican BettyLou DeCroce (incumbent) 24,706 28.5%
Republican Jay Webber (incumbent) 24,451 28.21%
Democratic Christine Clarke 18,813 21.7%
Democratic Laura Fortgang 18,711 21.59%
Total votes 86,681 100%
Republican hold
New Jersey general election, 2017
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jay Webber 31,810 28.2 Decrease 2.1
Republican BettyLou DeCroce 31,766 28.2 Decrease 1.9
Democratic Joseph R. Raich 24,732 22.0 Increase 2.6
Democratic E. William Edge 24,362 21.6 Increase 2.8
Total votes '112,670' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2015
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Jay Webber 13,739 30.3 Decrease 2.3
Republican BettyLou DeCroce 13,666 30.1 Decrease 2.8
Democratic Avery Hart 8,805 19.4 Increase 2.0
Democratic Wayne B. Marek 8,525 18.8 Increase 1.7
Green Jimmy D. Brash 666 1.5 N/A
Total votes '45,401' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2013
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican BettyLou DeCroce 35,352 32.9 Increase 0.9
Republican Jay Webber 35,028 32.6 Increase 1.2
Democratic Elliot Isibor 18,720 17.4 Increase 0.6
Democratic Joseph Raich 18,379 17.1 Decrease 0.5
Total votes '107,479' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2011
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Alex DeCroce 19,696 32.0
Republican Jay Webber 19,543 31.8
Democratic Joseph Raich 10,847 17.6
Democratic Elliot Isibor 10,319 16.8
Green Michael Spector 1,095 1.8
Total votes 61,500 100.0
New Jersey general election, 2009
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Alex DeCroce 43,647 34.7 Increase 2.6
Republican Jay Webber 42,077 33.4 Increase 2.6
Democratic Wayne B. Marek 20,107 16.0 Decrease 0.9
Democratic Douglas Herbert 20,015 15.9 Decrease 1.2
Total votes '125,846' '100.0'
New Jersey general election, 2007
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Alex DeCroce 25,342 32.1 Increase 1.9
Republican Jay Webber 24,307 30.8 Increase 1.7
Democratic David Modrak 13,488 17.1 Decrease 3.0
Democratic Wayne Marek 13,308 16.9 Decrease 2.5
Green Michael Spector 971 1.2 N/A
Green Matthew Norton 935 1.2 N/A
Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan 577 0.7 Increase 0.1
Total votes '78,928' '100.0'

United States House of Representatives
New Jersey's 11th congressional district, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mikie Sherrill 183,684 56.8
Republican Jay Webber 136,322 42.1
Independent Robert Crook 2,182 0.7
Libertarian Ryan Martinez 1,386 0.4
Total votes 323,574 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

References
  1. James K. Webber, Webber McGill LLC. Accessed June 5, 2018.
  2. Assemblyman Jay Webber, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  3. Garber, Phil. "Republican voters to pick possible successor to Frelinghuysen in 11th District", Cedar Grove / Verona Observer, May 29, 2018. Accessed June 28, 2018. "Webber grew up in Clifton and attended St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale."
  4. "James K. Webber – The Law Offices of Webber McGill, LLC". webbermcgill.com. September 21, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  5. "Assemblyman Jay Webber | Biography". Assemblyman Jay Webber. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  6. Kornacki, Steve (April 13, 2003). "Martin makes right turn on road to a GOP primary". Politics NJ. Archived from the original on December 12, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  7. "Assemblyman Jay Webber". New Jersey Assembly Republicans. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  8. "Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For June 2003 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 3, 2006. p. 26. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  9. Heyboer, Kelly; Murphy, Dan (June 5, 2007). "26th District: DeCroce, Webber win GOP Assembly nods". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  10. "Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For June 2007 Primary Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. July 20, 2007. p. 26. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  11. New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  12. Legislative Roster for District 26, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022.
  13. Rispoli, Michael. "N.J. gov candidate Chris Christie taps Assemblyman Jay Webber to head N.J. GOP", The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2009. Accessed September 26, 2015.
  14. "Webber Elected NJGOP Chairman". New Jersey Republican State Committee. June 18, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
  15. Dinges, Tomás. "N.J. Republican Party elects new state chairman", The Star-Ledger, January 11, 2011. Accessed September 26, 2015. "Raia was named the new head of the New Jersey Republican State Committee last Thursday. That news came shortly after former chair Assemblyman Jay Webber, of Morris Plains, announced he would step down."
  16. Hetrick, Christian (June 5, 2018). "Jay Webber Wins GOP Primary in New Jersey's 11th District". Observer. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  17. "U.S. House Election Results 2018". Politico. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  18. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  19. "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
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