New Jersey's 12th congressional district is represented by Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman, who has served in Congress since 2015.

[3] The redistricting made second-term Democrat Rush D. Holt Jr. considerably more secure; he had narrowly defeated freshman Republican Michael Pappas in 1998, and had only held on to his seat against Dick Zimmer who represented the district from 1991 to 1997, by 651 votes in 2000.

In 2002, despite an expensive challenge from former New Jersey Secretary of State Buster Soaries, Holt was re-elected with 61% of the vote.

Holt retired in 2014 and was succeeded by State Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, making her the first African-American woman elected to Congress from New Jersey.

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of four counties and 32 municipalities.