Jon Bramnick

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 stationery 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 at Syracuse University and was awarded a J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law.^[4][5]

Before becoming an Assemblyman, Bramnick served two terms on the Plainfield City Council from 1984 to 1991 for the second ward.^[4][6][7] In 1998, Bramnick ran for the Westfield City Council for the first ward.^[8] He won the primary,^[9] however he lost the general election.^[10] He is the Republican Municipal Chairman in Westfield, where he resides with his family. Bramnick is a former professor at both Rutgers University and Rider University. 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 with the firm of Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan.^[11][12][13]

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, Morris, Somerset, 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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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.^[4]

After the death of Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce in January 2012, the Assembly Republican caucus chose Bramnick as its new leader.^[16] 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.^[11] 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.

In 2022 Bramnick won election to the New Jersey Senate, once again succeeding Tom Kean Jr., who did not run for re-election.

In January 2024, Bramnick announced he was running for Governor of New Jersey in 2025.^[19][20] In the Republican primary, Bramnick placed third out of five candidates with 6.2% of the vote.^[21]

Bramnick is widely described as a moderate Republican who is opposed to Donald Trump.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

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 victims.^[5][45] Bramnick resides in Westfield, New Jersey with his wife Patricia (married in 1981), and has two grown children and a granddaughter.^[5][46] He is Jewish.^[47]

On March 11, 2019, Bramnick self-published a book titled Why People Don't Like You which is a comedy book about social skills.^[48]