Naming the districts

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

NJ-04: Hamilton and Monmouth
NJ-07: Central Jersey

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

The Massachusetts map is a needlessly gerrymandered piece of garbage, but here goes:

MASS.
MA-01: Berkshires and Franklin
MA-02: Springfield and South Worcester
MA-03: Worcester and Attleboro
MA-04: Fall River/Bristol
MA-05: Middlesex North
MA-06: Essex (North Shore)
MA-07: Middlesex South
MA-08: Metro Boston
MA-09: Norfolk
MA-10: Plymouth and Cape (South Shore)

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Aside from the slug of Woodbridge in NJ-07, it may be ugly looking, but it does do a great job of bundling like-minded voters with common interests and demographics.  It largely just meanders through obnoxiously wealthy exurbs in Hunterdon like my parents' home town, obnoxiously wealthy exurbs (transitioning to suburbs) in Somerset like Bridgewater, and obnoxiously wealthy suburbs (they're too well located to be exurbs) in Union like Westfield.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

CA-1: Redwood Empire
CA-2: Shasta Cascade
CA-3: Gold Country
CA-4: High Sierra

California is hard. I'll do some easier state now.

These are not Westminster style names. These are the kind of names the Chamber of Commerce would pick - basically insults to intelligence.

You think America would pick Westminster-style names?

Alaska does for State House districts, well mostly.

So too does Massachusetts for the State Senate.  Sorta.  I'm in the Second Middlesex, one of the few districts with a number in the name.  The Senate President is from "Plymouth and Barnstable,"  the least senior Republican is from "Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex," and the Minority Leader is from "Middlesex and Essex."

They get less creative with House names.  I live in the "Thirty-fourth Middlesex."

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Being from Hunterdon, and formerly working in Warren, I know that while parts of Warren are trending in the exurb direction (like Greenwich Township), most of it has more in common with Sussex County to the north than Hunterdon County.  Besides, Hunterdon really doesn't have any towns in it quite like Phillipsburg, which is quite run down with a growing number of Section 8 residents and a growing low-income minority community.

And I don't think Plainfield and Westfield have much of anything in common except for geography.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Is the district that Smith represents now pretty much the same one that Pallone won in 1988 and 1990?

The district that Pallone won in 1988 was a largely vertical Republican district (that never elected a Republican) that ran along the coast of Monmouth and down into the northern part of Ocean.

Chris Smith's current district is a largely horizontal district that takes up the Republican parts of Mercer County (Hamilton Twp), the northern tip of Burlington, and then out to the northern part of Ocean.

Smith's district looks quite similar to the one he won in the 1980s.  Redistricting simply took out Trenton and added the southern tip of Pallone's district.  Pallone's old district was essentially eliminated in the 1990 redistricting process—today's NJ-06 looks like the NJ-06 of 1980s, which was mostly urban Middlesex county.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Is the district that Smith represents now pretty much the same one that Pallone won in 1988 and 1990?

The district that Pallone won in 1988 was a largely vertical Republican district (that never elected a Republican) that ran along the coast of Monmouth and down into the northern part of Ocean.

Chris Smith's current district is a largely horizontal district that takes up the Republican parts of Mercer County (Hamilton Twp), the northern tip of Burlington, and then out to the northern part of Ocean.

Smith's district looks quite similar to the one he won in the 1980s.  Redistricting simply took out Trenton and added the southern tip of Pallone's district.  Pallone's old district was essentially eliminated in the 1990 redistricting process—today's NJ-06 looks like the NJ-06 of 1980s, which was mostly urban Middlesex county.

Was Pallone's election in 1988 an upset?  I know most people viewed that as a basically Republican seat.  Ronald Reagan carried it 67%-33% in 1984 and H.W. carried it 62%-37% at the same time Pallone was being elected. 

Yes.  Pallone's State Senate win was an upset, Pallone's House win was an upset, and Pallone's survival through the 90s redistricting round was an "upset."  Save for maybe Chris Smith, no NJ congressman has had to work harder to keep his seat.