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Rep. Jefferson Van Drew

Representative for New Jersey’s 2nd District

pronounced JEF-er-sun // van jroo

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Van Drew is the representative for New Jersey’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Republican (2019-), previously a Democrat (2019-2019). He has served since Jan 3, 2019. Van Drew is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.

Van Drew is among the Republican legislators who, by calling for entire states to be disenfranchised in the 2020 presidential election, fomented the terrorist attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 that aimed to prevent the determination of the next president of the United States. Shortly after the 2020 election, Van Drew joined a case before the Supreme Court calling for all the votes for president in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states that were narrowly won by Democrats — to be discounted, claiming that some voters there followed procedures set by the wrong state officials. The case amplified lies and conspiracy theories that fueled the movement that led to the attack on the Capitol. The Supreme Court rejected the case. Following the rejection of several cases before the Supreme Court, one legislator called for violence. On January 6, 2021 in the hours after the attack on the Capitol, Van Drew voted for the exclusion of Arizona and/or Pennsylvania — states narrowly won by Democrats — from the count of Electoral College votes that determined the next President of the United States.
Photo of Rep. Jefferson Van Drew [R-NJ2]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2020 Report Card for Van Drew.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Van Drew is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Van Drew has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to May 14, 2021. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 100% League of Conservation Voters: 93% Human Rights Campaign: 78% The Club for Growth: 26%

Committee Membership

Jefferson Van Drew sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Van Drew was the primary sponsor of 1 bill that was enacted:

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Does 1 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Van Drew sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Government Operations and Politics (30%) Transportation and Public Works (22%) Health (13%) Labor and Employment (9%) Energy (9%) Science, Technology, Communications (9%) Education (9%)

Recent Bills

Some of Van Drew’s most recently sponsored bills include...

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Van Drew voted Yea

Failed 250/168 on May 11, 2021.

Van Drew voted Yea

Passed 247/174 on Mar 18, 2021.

Van Drew voted Yea

Passed 327/85 on Dec 21, 2020.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a major government funding bill, which also included economic stimulus provisions due ...

Van Drew voted Yea

Van Drew voted Nay

Passed 310/107 on Nov 20, 2019.
Should shark fins, a delicacy in many food items, be banned? ## Context One of the most valuable parts of a shark are its fins, ...

Van Drew voted Nay

Passed 249/173 on Oct 22, 2019.

Missed Votes

From Jan 2019 to May 2021, Van Drew missed 26 of 1,098 roll call votes, which is 2.4%. This is on par with the median of 2.1% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: