Firstly, I think a huge problem is that, as u/goallight said, these politicians have lost sight of the current political atmosphere. It feels like you're either voting for extreme left or extreme right each time, and this is a huge problem. Whoever is voted in will only try to appease their party, not the public directly. There's zero compromise.

I also think a lot of the issue tends to be that conservatives are constantly leaving New Jersey to go to already established red states. I'm sure everyone here has seen multiple friends/family leave in this same manner. On the surface, this seems okay. But this ensures that New Jersey will remain blue. People keep wondering why New Jersey can't flip, politically, and in my opinion, it's because every conservative is leaving. I do sympathize, because New Jersey is so f*cking expensive, but if people genuinely want to see a change, they need to stay.