Donald Norcross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Donald Norcross
Donald Norcross official portrait.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New Jersey's 1st district
Incumbent
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 (age 62)
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Andrea Doran
Children3
RelativesGeorge Norcross (brother)
John C. Norcross (brother)
EducationCamden County College
Rutgers University–Camden
WebsiteHouse website

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 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 after Rob Andrews resigned. Norcross represented the 5th district in the New Jersey Senate from 2010 to 2014.

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, Norcross 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, he 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 mayor of Camden. Norcross won the Senate special election in 2010 to finish out the term, then was reelected to the New Jersey Senate in 2011 and 2013.[7][8]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Norcross' freshman portrait
(114th Congress)

Elections[]

2014[]

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 resign from Congress by the end of the month, and he did so on February 18.[9]

Norcross announced his candidacy on 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 won the Democratic primary—the real contest in what has long been the only safe Democratic district in South Jersey[citation needed]—with 72% of the vote. He ran in two elections on November 4: a special election for the balance of Andrews's 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 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 assistant whip, a role he reprised after his 2016 reelection.[10] He now serves in a number of leadership roles in the Democratic Caucus, including 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] and 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]

Hot mic incident[]

On June 24, 2021, during a remote United States House Committee on Education and Labor meeting over Zoom with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Representative Bob Good was questioning Cardona when someone interrupted by shouting "racist!", while Norcross's name flashed on the screen, leading participants to believe that Norcross made the remark; a later report from Fox News explicitly attributed the outburst to Norcross. A letter signed by every Republican member of the committee demanded an apology from Committee Chairman Bobby Scott for what they considered a "slander" and a "smear" against Good. Scott responded by calling the outburst "inappropriate" and "out of order". As of June 28, Norcross had not addressed the incident.[17][18]

Committee assignments[]

Caucus memberships[]

Personal life[]

Norcross is married to Andrea Doran, an echocardiographer. They have two children. Norcross also has a third child, Donald Jr., by his first wife, Nancy.[2][7] His brother George is a New Jersey Democratic leader and businessman. He has another brother, John, a psychologist, author, and professor at the University of Scranton. Norcross lives in Camden.[26]

Electoral history[]

New Jersey State Senate Special elections, 2010[27]
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[28]
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[29]
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[30]
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[31]
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
New Jersey's 1st Congressional District, 2020[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Donald Norcross (incumbent) 240,567 62.5
Republican Claire Gustafson 144,463 37.5
Total votes 385,030 100.0
Democratic hold

References[]

  1. ^ "NORCROSS, Donald - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b 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. ^ Jump up to: a b c Profile, norcross.house.gov; accessed November 17, 2014.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b 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. ^ Jump up to: a b "Congressman Norcross Appointed to Democratic Leadership Committee". January 25, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Rep. Norcross Named to House Democrats' New Policy & Communications Committee". January 14, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "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. ^ Hakimi, Lauren (June 24, 2021). "'Racist' shouted at GOP congressman while he pressed education secretary on critical race theory". CNN. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  18. ^ Keene, Houston (June 25, 2021). "Republicans demand apology after Democrat calls congressman 'racist' for CRT questions". Fox News. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  19. ^ "Full Biography". December 11, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Norcross Appointed to Select Committee on Pension Security". February 23, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  21. ^ "Bipartisan Heroin Task Force Releases Legislative Agenda for 2018". January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  23. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  24. ^ "Northeast Philly Dem Brendan Boyle forms "blue collar caucus" in Congress". Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  25. ^ "Members of the Veterinary Medicine Caucus". Veterinary Medicine Caucus. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  26. ^ "Full Biography". December 11, 2012.
  27. ^ "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).
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  30. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  31. ^ "Election Information" (PDF). NJ Department of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  32. ^ "Official General Election Results: U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Elections. Retrieved December 7, 2020.

External links[]

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
2014–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Alma Adams 		United States representatives by seniority
203rd 		Succeeded by
Ann Kirkpatrick
  • v
  • t
New Jersey's delegation(s) to the 113th–present United States Congress (ordered by seniority)
113th
Senate:
  •   F. Lautenberg (D)
  •   B. Menendez (D)
  •   J. Chiesa (R)
  •   C. Booker (D)
House:
114th
Senate:
  •   B. Menendez (D)
  •   C. Booker (D)
House:
115th
Senate:
  •   B. Menendez (D)
  •   C. Booker (D)
House:
116th
Senate:
  •   B. Menendez (D)
  •   C. Booker (D)
House:
  •   C. Smith (R)
  •   F. Pallone (D)
  •   B. Pascrell (D)
  •   A. Sires (D)
  •   D. Payne Jr. (D)
  •   D. Norcross (D)
  •   B. Watson Coleman (D)
  •   J. Gottheimer (D)
  •   A. Kim (D)
  •   T. Malinowski (D)
  •   M. Sherrill (D)
  •    J. Van Drew (D/R)
117th
Senate:
  •   B. Menendez (D)
  •   C. Booker (D)
House:
  •   C. Smith (R)
  •   F. Pallone (D)
  •   B. Pascrell (D)
  •   A. Sires (D)
  •   D. Payne Jr. (D)
  •   D. Norcross (D)
  •   B. Watson Coleman (D)
  •   J. Gottheimer (D)
  •   A. Kim (D)
  •   T. Malinowski (D)
  •   M. Sherrill (D)
  •   J. Van Drew (R)
Retrieved from ""