AsburyPark

New Jersey voters will head to the polls next week, making party-line picks in gerrymandered legislative districts designed to give dominant parties easy paths to victory. Nearly every winner can be identified right now.

New Jersey’s 16th District, however, is an oasis of competition in a desert of nominal opposition. The incumbent group is a split ticket, a rare sighting. Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli hold down the Republican fort, but Democrat Andrew Zwicker broke through in the Assembly two years ago.

Zwicker’s win wasn’t a huge surprise. Redistricting in 2011 shifted the 16th from a Republican stronghold to a Democrat-majority region, and Zwicker’s strong candidacy finally drew out the party potential.

This year, the field feels wide open, especially with anti-Chris Christie/Donald Trump sentiment working against Republicans. Zwicker’s back, and Bateman wants another term. But Ciattarelli opted for a run at the Republican gubernatorial nomination. That opens a seat, and two quality challengers with familiar faces emerged from the still-deep GOP bench: Donna Simon, the former assemblywoman ousted by Zwicker in 2015, and Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire.

Joining Zwicker on the Democratic team are Senate challenger Laurie Poppe, an attorney and social worker, and Roy Freiman, a retired insurance executive. Both are from Hillsborough. The Democratic ticket is a worthy one, but we don’t believe either new challenger should join Zwicker in Trenton.

Bateman needs to stay. He has long been one of the more rational, moderate Statehouse voices, willing to work across the aisle, and his political courage is all too rare. He may still be able to get things done, even under a Phil Murphy regime. Poppe’s social advocacy would be valuable, but the Legislature can ill afford to lose Bateman.

On the Assembly side, Zwicker should stay on. His legislative successes as a freshman under a Republican governor weren’t plentiful, but he would have more influence under Murphy. His scientific background and ideas for reimagining New Jersey’s economic potential will be beneficial, and he has an independent streak, having voted against the Democrat-led gas-tax hike.

Freiman has done his homework and sounds ready to help moderate some of Murphy’s more unrealistic goals if given the chance. But the second Assembly seat should come down to Simon or Caliguire.

There’s little to separate them; Caliguire comes from one of the most efficient freeholder boards in the state, while Simon wants to return to the Statehouse where she was a consistent voice of fiscal restraint. We like them both, but there’s a resilient quality about Simon that gives her the slight nod. When she first ran for Assembly in a special election to replace the late Peter Biondi in 2012, Simon seemed ill-prepared, perhaps assuming she’d just ride the usual Repubilcan wave to victory. But she has improved as a candidate a great deal since then, and deserves another chance.

Our picks are Bateman for Senate, Zwicker and Simon for Assembly.

The 16th Legislative District includes parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon and Mercer counties.