New Jersey voters will decide whether to send a new senator back to Washington for a full term and choose their members of the House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections.
No state lawmakers are on Tuesday's ballots, but voters are being asked to decide two statewide ballot questions on constitutional amendments to change the state's bail system and preserve more open space.
Voters in many communities will be electing county and municipal officials and school board members, and some will decide on local ballot measures, including whether to fund school facility expansions.
Atop the ballot is the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Cory Booker, who has been in office a year filling the expired term of the late Frank Lautenberg, and Republican challenger Jeff Bell.
A Bell victory would be the first for a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in the state since 1972, and polls have suggested that it is unlikely to happen this year.
All 12 House seats are up, and it's expected that none of them will be controlled by a different party after the election. Currently, Republicans and Democrats each old six.
But, there will certainly be new members of Congress from New Jersey.
Local
Voters in the 1st, 3rd and 12th District are selecting new representatives to replace two who are not seeking re-election and one who resigned earlier this year.
The race in central New Jersey's 12th District ensures that the state will have its first female in Congress in more than a decade. There, Republican Alieta Eck and Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman are vying to take the seat currently held by Democrat Rush Holt.
In the 1st District, in the state's Philadelphia suburbs, Democrat Donald Norcross, the brother of party powerbroker George Norcross, is trying to fend off Republican and former Philadelphia Eagles player Garry Cobb for a seat that has long been held by Democrats, most recently Rob Andrews, who resigned earlier this year.
The congressional race that has attracted the most intrigue, and campaign funding, is in the 3rd District, which stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs to the shore and is currently represented by Republican Jon Runyan.
There, Republican Tom MacArthur is vying with Democrat Aimee Belgard. Outside groups that are not allowed to coordinate with the official campaigns have spent about $3.5 million in that district, most of it attacking the character of the opposing candidate.
At times, Democrats nationally have seen that race as one of their best chances to gain a seat in a midterm election when, Republicans are expected to expand their majority in the House.
Polls in two other Republican-held districts have shown the races closer at some points than the longtime incumbents are used to.
Those races are in southern New Jersey's 2nd District, where Republican Frank LoBiondo is running against Democrat William Hughes Jr., and northern New Jersey's 5th District, where Democrat Roy Cho is challenging Republican Scott Garrett.
Perhaps the most watched county race in New Jersey is in Bergen, the state's most populous county, where Republican incumbent Kathe Donovan is facing Freeholder James Tedesco.
The two ballot measure that would get rid of the state's right to bail is presented as part of a larger overhaul intended to make it easier for judges to keep suspects who are considered dangerous in jail while awaiting trial, while letting lower-level suspects go free without paying. There hasn't been much organized opposition, but some critics worry about giving too much power to the court system.
The other proposed amendment to the state constitution would dedicate a portion of the state's corporate business tax to open space preservation — and increase the amount starting in 2019. Some environmentalists say that would take money away from other environmental projects, while some conservatives say the cause should not be a priority.
Gov. Chris Christie has not campaigned against the open-space amendment, but he has said he's against it.
Christie is not on the ballot in his home state, but New Jersey's best known politician has been a high-profile part of the election across the country. He has campaigned vigorously as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
Polls are open 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday.
