Malia Herman, a former Associated Press and Gannett reporter, won the Democratic nomination for a seat on the Maplewood Township Committee, defeating incumbent Jamaine Cripe by 489 votes, 2,443 to 1,954.
Another incumbent, Mayor Nancy Adams, was the top vote-getter with 2,558 votes.
Adams and Cripe had run for re-election as a team, and both had the endorsement of the local Democratic organization. Adams is serving her third term and Cripe was elected three years ago.
The Maplewood race was among a handful of municipalities across the state where the party-backed candidate did not win the primary.
Herman had the backing of former Mayor Frank McGehee, who mounted an off-the-line campaign for State Assembly last year.
Once a Republican stronghold, Maplewood has elected only Democrats since the 1990s.
Adams and Herman are unopposed in the general election.