Donald Norcross

Donald W. Norcross (born December 13, 1958) is an American politician who has served as the U.S. Representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district since 2014. The district covers much of the core of the New Jersey side of the Philadelphia metro area, including Camden, Cherry Hill, Lindenwold, and Glassboro. He is a member of the Democratic Party and an American labor leader. He won the seat in 2014 following the resignation of Rob Andrews. Prior to his service in the House, he represented the 5th District in the New Jersey Senate from 2010 to 2014.

Donald Norcross
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 1st district
Assumed office
November 12, 2014
Preceded byRob Andrews
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 5th district
In office
January 19, 2010 – November 12, 2014
Preceded byDana L. Redd
Succeeded byNilsa Cruz-Perez
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
January 12, 2010 – January 19, 2010
Preceded byNilsa Cruz-Perez
Joseph J. Roberts
Succeeded byWhip Wilson
Personal details
Born (1958-12-13) December 13, 1958
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Andrea Doran
Children3
RelativesGeorge Norcross (Brother)
John C. Norcross (Brother)
EducationCamden County College
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Norcross was born on December 13, 1958 in Camden, New Jersey,[1] the son of George E. Norcross Jr. He and his three brothers were raised in Pennsauken Township. He graduated from Camden County College with a degree in criminal justice, and attended Rutgers University-Camden.[2] He was raised in the Lutheran faith.[3][4][5]

Career

In 1980, he served as an apprentice in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, eventually becoming assistant business manager of the IBEW Local 351.[6] A former president of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council, Norcross served as president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council for 16 years.[7]

Norcross and his running mate, Camden City Council President Angel Fuentes, were elected to the Assembly in 2009 after Democrat incumbents Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Joseph J. Roberts both retired. Shortly thereafter, Norcross was appointed to the Senate seat vacated by Dana Redd who was elected as Mayor of Camden. Norcross won the Senate special election in 2010 to finish out the term, then was re-elected to the New Jersey Senate in 2011 and 2013.[7][8]

U.S. House of Representatives
Norcross' freshman portrait
(114th Congress)

Elections
Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New Jersey § District 1

On February 4, 2014, South Jersey Congressman Rob Andrews announced he would be resigning from Congress by the end of the month, and he did so on February 18.[9]

Norcross announced his candidacy February 5, and within a week, he was endorsed by every New Jersey congressional Democrat, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, General Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, Mayor of Camden Dana Redd, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, and former Governor Jim Florio (who represented the 1st from 1975 to 1990).[8]

Tenure
Norcross speaking at the 2017 Women's March in Trenton, New Jersey

Norcross easily won the Democratic primary—the real contest in what has long been the only safe Democratic district in South Jersey—with 72 percent of the vote. He ran in two elections on November 4: a special election for the balance of Andrews' 12th full term, and a regular election for a full two-year term. He easily won both over Republican challenger Garry Cobb. He was sworn in on November 12, 2014 by House Speaker John Boehner. Since he was added to the House roll on that date, he gained more seniority than other members of the House freshman class of 2014.

Soon after his election, Norcross was appointed to Assistant Whip, a role he would go on to reprise after his 2016 re-election.[10] Norcross currently serves in a number of leadership roles in the Democratic Caucus, as well, including serving as co-chair of the Rebuilding America Task Force,[11] member of the Steering and Policy Committee,[12] and member of the Communications Committee.[13] He is also the co-founder of the Bipartisan Building Trades Caucus,[14] Vice-Chair of the Bipartisan Task Force to Combat the Heroin Epidemic,[15] and was appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Pension Security.[16]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Norcross is married to Andrea Doran, an echocardiographer. They have two children together. Norcross has a third child, Donald Jr., by his first wife, Nancy.[2][7] His brother George Norcross is a New Jersey Democratic leader and businessman. He has another brother, John Norcross, who is a psychologist, author, and professor at the University of Scranton. Norcross lives in Camden.[23]

Electoral history
New Jersey State Senate Special elections, 2010[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald W. Norcross (incumbent) 28,801 65.7
Republican Harry E. Trout 15,041 34.3
Democratic hold
New Jersey State Senate elections, 2011[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald W. Norcross (incumbent) 17,712 56.8
Republican Keith Walker 13,444 43.2
Democratic hold
New Jersey's 1st Congressional District, 2014[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald Norcross 93,315 57.4
Republican Garry Cobb 64,073 39.4
We Deserve Better Scot John Tomaszewski 1,784 1.1
Stop Boss Politics Robert Shapiro 1,134 0.7
Change is Needed Margaret M. Chapman 1,103 0.7
Of The People Mike Berman 634 0.4
D-R Party Donald E Letton 449 0.3
Total votes 162,492 100
Democratic hold
New Jersey's 1st Congressional District, 2016[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald Norcross (incumbent) 183,231 60.0
Republican Bob Patterson 112,388 36.8
We Deserve Better Scot John Tomaszewski 5,473 1.8
Libertarian William F. Sihr IV 2,410 0.8
AmericanIndependents.org Michael Berman 1,971 0.7
Total votes 305,473 100
Democratic hold
New Jersey's 1st Congressional District, 2018[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald Norcross (incumbent) 169,628 64.4
Republican Paul E. Dilks 87,617 33.3
Libertarian Robert Shapiro 2,821 1.1
We Deserve Better Paul Hamlin 2,368 0.9
Your Voices Heard Mohammad Kabir 984 0.4
Total votes 263,418 100
Democratic hold

References
  1. "NORCROSS, Donald - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. Roh, Jane (September 6, 2009). "Another Norcross on the rise". Courier-Post. p. 1.
  3. Religion: Lutheran per biodata, ccbq.capwiz.com; accessed December 1, 2014.
  4. "Profile of Donald Norcross". house.ontheissues.org.
  5. "New Jersey-1: Donald Norcross (D)".
  6. "Norcross: Why I'm running for the State Assembly". September 2, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
  7. Profile, norcross.house.gov; accessed November 17, 2014.
  8. Rob Andrews to leave Congress, philly.com; accessed November 17, 2014.
  9. "N.J. Democrat Rob Andrews to resign from Congress", washingtonpost.com; accessed November 17, 2014.
  10. "Congressman Norcross Re-Appointed to Democratic Leadership Position". January 18, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  11. "Norcross Named Co-Chair of House Democrats' 'Jobs for America' Effort". September 13, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  12. "Congressman Norcross Appointed to Democratic Leadership Committee". January 25, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  13. "Rep. Norcross Named to House Democrats' New Policy & Communications Committee". January 14, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  14. "Building a Better America Together". March 22, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  15. "Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Releases Legislative Agenda for 2018". January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  16. "Norcross Appointed to Select Committee on Pension Security". February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  17. "Full Biography". December 11, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  18. "Norcross Appointed to Select Committee on Pension Security". February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  19. "Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Releases Legislative Agenda for 2018". January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  20. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  21. "Northeast Philly Dem Brendan Boyle forms "blue collar caucus" in Congress". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  22. "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  23. "Full Biography". December 11, 2012.
  24. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "New Jersey Senate, (retrieved on 12/12/11).
  25. Official List Candidate Returns for State Senate For November 2011 General Election Archived July 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, New Jersey Department of State, December 14, 2011. Accessed January 7, 2012.
  26. "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  27. "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  28. "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by
Nilsa Cruz-Perez
Joseph J. Roberts		 Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 5th district
2010		 Succeeded by
Whip Wilson
New Jersey Senate
Preceded by
Dana Redd		 Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 5th district
2010–2014		 Succeeded by
Nilsa Cruz-Perez
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Rob Andrews		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 1st congressional district
204–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Alma Adams		 United States Representatives by seniority
241st		 Succeeded by
Ann Kirkpatrick
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