Democrat David Tingle withdrew his candidacy for the Assembly on Monday after a petition challenge pushed him below the 250 signatures required to reach the ballot.
Tingle, an Air Force veteran and lieutenant at the Edison Police Department, filed to challenge incumbent Democratic Assemblymen Robert Karabinchak (D-Edison) and Sterley Stanley (D-East Brunswick) in the 18th legislative district, a Middlesex County district anchored by Edison and East Brunswick. The veteran’s candidacy was supported by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who is backing a slate of Assembly candidates throughout the state.
Karabinchak and Stanley challenged Tingle’s filing. The Democratic challenger filed with 361 signatures, but Administrative Law Judge Tama Hughes found at least 116 signatures were invalid.
When the total number of signatures dipped to 245, Tingle voluntarily withdrew his candidacy.
Karabinchak and Stanley still face one Democratic primary challenger, Christopher R. Binetti, a perennial candidate who advocates against Italian American discrimination. Binetti filed with just 266 signatures, but he did not face a petition challenge.
Fulop-backed candidate Dave Luciano was kicked off the ballot in the 14th legislative district earlier Monday.
South Plainfield Councilwoman Melanie Mott and podiatrist Eugene DeMarzo filed as Republicans.
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