Jon M. Bramnick (born February 24, 1953) is an American Republican Party politician who has served in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

since 2022, representing the 21st legislative district. He previously served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

, representing the 21st Legislative District from 2003 to 2022, where he was the Assembly Republican Leader from January 2012 to January 2022. He was appointed to the Assembly in 2003 to fill the unexpired term of the vacancy created upon the selection of Thomas Kean Jr. to fill an unexpired

term. He was elected to a full two-year term later that year and was re-elected in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. He was elected to the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and was re-elected in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. In January 2024, Bramnick announced he was running for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, but lost in the primary with 6.2% of the vote. Bramnick is a moderate, anti-Donald Trump Republican.

Early life

Bramnick was born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, to his father Herbert X. Bramnick, and his wife, Babette. His parents ran Lazaar's Stationers, a stationary supply business in Plainfield. He graduated from Plainfield High School, received a B.A. in political science from the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and was awarded a J.D. from the

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

School of Law. Before becoming an Assemblyman, Bramnick served two terms on the Plainfield

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from 1984 to 1991 for the second ward. In 1998, Bramnick ran for the Westfield

for the first ward. He won the primary, however he lost the general election. He is the Republican Municipal Chairman in Westfield, where he resides with his family. Bramnick is a former professor at both

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

. Following his graduation from law school, he served as an assistant corporation counsel in New York City. He is an attorney with a private practice in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...

with the firm of Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan.

New Jersey Assembly

Following the appointment of Tom Kean Jr. to the State Senate, a vacancy opened up in the 21st District's Assembly delegation. Bramnick won the most ballots of a vote by members of the

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, Morris,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, and Union county Republican committee persons of the district beating former Assemblyman James J. Barry Jr., Millburn mayor Thomas McDermott, and Warren Township Planning Board chairman Dan Gallic. In December 2005 he was appointed Assistant Minority Whip of the Assembly for the 2006–2008 term. In June 2007, Bramnick was selected as the Minority Whip, succeeding Francis J. Blee. In November 2009, he was elected as the Republican Conference Leader, the second-highest leadership position in the Republican caucus. In the Assembly, he has served as Vice Chair of the Legislative Services Commission. After the death of Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce in January 2012, the Assembly Republican caucus chose Bramnick as its new leader. Bramnick has been honored with the 2013 Governor Meyner Award from the Bar Association and the 2011 Legislator of the Year award from the Chamber of Commerce. He was named 2013 Legislator of the Year by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors and was honored at Rider University for his dedication to New Jersey politics and public service.The 2015 Lincoln Award Presented to New Jersey Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick
Woodcliff Lake republican Club. Accessed November 23, 2016. On January 3, 2017, Bramnick announced that he would not run for New Jersey governor in 2017, as he was seen as a potential frontrunner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Committee assignments

Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:Senator Jon M. Bramnick (R)

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. Accessed January 23, 2024. *Commerce *Judiciary

District 21

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the

and two members in the

. The representatives from the 21st District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are: * Senator Jon Bramnick (R) * Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis (R) * Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R)

Gubernatorial campaign

In January 2024, Bramnick announced he was running for

. In the Republican primary, Bramnick placed third out of five candidates with 6.2% of the vote.

Political positions

Bramnick is widely described as a moderate Republican who is opposed to Donald Trump.

Abortion

Bramnick supports

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

, and described himself as being in favor of ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...

''. In 2022, he abstained on a vote to codify abortion into New Jersey state law, saying that the bill "went too far." In 2024, he described himself as "a pro-choice Republican."

Donald Trump

Bramnick has been critical of president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, with a NorthJersey.com article describing him as a " Never Trumper". He has criticised Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, saying "I think it is dangerous to democracy that anytime a president who says, 'I won,' and then says there is illegality and fraud, and then does not produce it". In 2022, Bramnick said that Trump's presidency "caused a problem for the Republican brand", adding that "ever since

January 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will ...

, people are concerned whether or not they can trust the Republicans."

Drugs

Bramnick is an opponent of the legalization of recreational marijuana, saying he "doesn't deny" using marijuana while in college but is "not a fan" of its legalization.

Guns

Bramnick received an "A+" rating from the

NRA Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1976, the Fund endorses political candidates on behalf of the NRA and contributes money to those candidate's ...

in 2015 and 2017, though this declined to a "C" grade for 2019, 2021 and 2023. During the 2019 electoral campaign, Bramnick was accused by his opponents of being an opponent of gun control. Bramnick rejected these claims, saying he had voted for universal background checks and limiting handgun purchases, and that he supported a federal ban on assault weapons.

LGBT rights

In 2013, Governor

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

vetoed a bill that would have legalized gay marriage in New Jersey. Bramnick opposed gay marriage and expressed his agreement with the governor. Bramnick described marriage equality as not being a civil rights issue, rather "something for the voters". When Christie decided not to appeal New Jersey's Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, Bramnick said it was "a smart thing" to not appeal. In 2021, Bramnick abstained on the bill that codified marriage equality into law in New Jersey.

Personal life

Bramnick holds the honorary title of "Funniest Lawyer in New Jersey" after winning contests sponsored by the bar association at Rascals Comedy Club. He often volunteers his services as a comedic auctioneer on behalf of non-profit organizations including

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...

victims. Bramnick resides in

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a Town (New Jersey), town in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4% ...

with his wife Patricia (married in 1981), and has two grown children and a granddaughter. He is Jewish. On March 11, 2019, Bramnick

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

a book titled ''Why People Don't Like You'' which is a comedy book about

social skills A social skill is any competence facilitating interaction and communication with others where social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning these skills is called socia ...

Electoral history

New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Assembly

References

External links

Campaign websiteAssemblyman Bramnick's legislative web page

Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan, LLCAssembly Member Jon M. Bramnick

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bramnick, Jon 1953 births 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American legislators 20th-century New Jersey politicians 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American lawyers Jewish state legislators in New Jersey Living people Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni New Jersey city council members Lawyers from Union County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators Plainfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Politicians from New York City Politicians from Plainfield, New Jersey People from Westfield, New Jersey Rider University faculty Rutgers University faculty Hofstra University alumni 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature Candidates in the 2025 United States elections