New Jersey's 12th congressional district

New Jersey's 12th congressional district
District map as of 2013
Current Representative	Bonnie Watson Coleman (D–Ewing Township)
Distribution	93.17% urban 6.83% rural
Population (2000)	647,258
Median income	69,668
Ethnicity	75.4% White 11.7% Black 9.1% Asian 5.5% Hispanic 0.1% Native American 0.2% other
Cook PVI	D+14

New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional district is represented by Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman. The district is known for its research centers and educational institutions such as Princeton University, The College of New Jersey, Institute for Advanced Study, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Historically, the 12th and its predecessors had been a swing district. However, redistricting following the United States Census, 2000 gave the district a somewhat bluer hue than its predecessor. It absorbed most of Trenton, along with a number of other municipalities.

The redistricting made second-term Democrat Rush D. Holt Jr. considerably more secure; he had narrowly defeated freshman Republican Michael Pappas in 1998, and had only held on to his seat against Dick Zimmer (who represented the district from 1991 to 1997) by 651 votes. In 2002, despite an expensive challenge from former New Jersey Secretary of State Buster Soaries, Holt was re-elected with 61%, and Republicans have mostly lost interest in the district.

Since then, the 12th has been reckoned as a Democratic-leaning district, as measured by the Cook PVI. In 2004, Holt was re-elected over real estate executive Bill Spadea (59–41%) and again in 2006 over former Helmetta Council President Joseph Sinagra (65–35%).

In 2008, Holt defeated Holmdel Township Deputy Mayor Alan Bateman (62–36%).