Angela V. McKnight (born March 10, 1977) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 31st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since she was sworn into office on January 12, 2016.

Angela V. McKnight
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 31st district
Assumed office
January 9, 2024
Preceded bySandra Bolden Cunningham
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 31st district
In office
January 12, 2016 – January 9, 2024
Serving with
Preceded byCharles Mainor and Jason O'Donnell
Succeeded byBarbara McCann Stamato
Personal details
Born (1977-03-10) March 10, 1977 (age 47)
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceJersey City
Alma materUniversity of Phoenix
WebsiteLegislative web page

A resident of Jersey City, New Jersey, McKnight received a bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix with a major in business management. She is the founder and chief executive officer of AngelaCARES, an advocacy and support organization for senior citizens.[1]

New Jersey General Assembly

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Under the terms of a bill introduced by McKnight in the General Assembly in 2019, students would be required to demonstrate proficiency in the use of cursive handwriting, both reading and writing, by the end of the third grade. McKnight cited the bill as providing children with "a vital skill they will need for the rest of their lives", noting that without cursive skills "how will our students ever know how to read a scripted font on a word document, or even sign the back of a check".[2]

New Jersey Senate

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McKnight received the nomination for the Senate seat following the announcement that Sandra Bolden Cunningham would not run for re-election after 16 years in office.[3] McKnight defeated Republican Luis Soto in the 2023 New Jersey Senate election.[4][5]

Committees

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Committee assignments for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[1]

  • Education
  • Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
  • Law and Public Safety

District 31

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Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[6] The representatives from the 31st District for the 2024—2025 Legislative Session are:[7]

Electoral history

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Senate

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31st Legislative District General Election, 2023[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angela V. McKnight 14,421 75.8
Republican Luis Soto 4,593 24.2
Total votes 19,014 100.0
Democratic hold

General Assembly

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31st legislative district general election, 2021[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angela V. McKnight (incumbent) 26,187 38.30%
Democratic William Sampson 24,810 36.28%
Republican Rose Javier 8,817 12.89%
Republican Brandon Vila 8,565 12.53%
Total votes 68,379 100.0
Democratic hold
31st Legislative District General Election, 2019[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angela McKnight (incumbent) 18,432 43.22%
Democratic Nicholas Chiaravalloti (incumbent) 16,750 39.27%
Republican Jason Mushnick 3,792 8.89%
Republican Mary Kay Palange 3,674 8.61%
Total votes 33,893 100%
Democratic hold
31st Legislative District general election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Angela V. McKnight (incumbent) 23,616 42.0   6.7
Democratic Nicholas Chiaravalloti (incumbent) 22,823 40.6   6.7
Republican Michael J. Alonso 4,994 8.9   5.3
Republican Lauren DiGiaro 4,766 8.5   1.1
Total votes 56,199 100.0
Democratic hold
31st Legislative District general election[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Angela V. McKnight 9,597 35.3
Democratic Nicholas Chiaravalloti 9,212 33.9
Republican Matthew Kopko 3,872 14.2
Republican Herminio Mendoza 2,603 9.6
Your Independent Leadership Anthony Zanowic 958 3.5
Your Independent Leadership Alejandro Rodriguez 934 3.4
Write-ins Personal choice 32 0.1
Total votes 27,208 100.0
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b Senator Angela V. McKnight (D), New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 25, 2024.
  2. ^ Rushing, Ellie. "New Jersey legislator introduces bill that would require students to learn cursive", The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 3, 2019. Accessed December 4, 2019. "New Jersey’s elementary school students would be required to learn, read, and write cursive by the end of third grade, under a bill now in the state Assembly. “In some cases, children are entering middle school without knowing how to sign their own name in cursive,” said Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, a Democrat who represents parts of Hudson County."
  3. ^ Election profile: 31st Legislative District, NJ Spotlight News, January 25, 2024. "The retirement of Democratic Sen. Sandra Cunningham created a chain reaction, with Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, a Jersey City woman who founded and serves as CEO of an advocacy and support organization for senior citizens, running for Senate instead. She faces Republican Luis Soto, a business executive from Kearny."
  4. ^ Connolly, Julio. "NJ election results 2023: State Senate, Assembly seats decided", The Record, November 9, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Official List Candidates for State Senate for General Election November 7, 2023, New Jersey Department of State, December 6, 2023. Accessed December 23, 2023.
  6. ^ New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Legislative Roster for District 31, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "Official List, Candidates for State Senate for GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2023 Election" (PDF). New Jersey Department of State. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "New Jersey's 2021 Election Ratings - The Final Rundown". Elections Daily. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/04/2019 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/07/2017 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. November 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  12. ^ "Official List Page Candidates for General Assembly For General Election 11/03/2015 Election" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
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New Jersey General Assembly
Preceded by Member of the New Jersey General Assembly for the 31st District
January 12, 2016 – present
With: Nicholas Chiaravalloti, William Sampson
Succeeded by
Incumbent