A pair of municipal Republican officials filed to run for Assembly in the state’s 16th legislative district last week.
Hillsborough Deputy Mayor Catherine Payne and Raritan Township Committeeman Scott Sipos are so far unopposed in the GOP primary. If they move on to the general they would likely face a pair of Democratic incumbents, Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis (D-Raritan Twp) and Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Hillsborough).
Payne announced her run at a Hillsborough GOP meeting Monday night.
“I am excited to bring my local government knowledge and dedication to our community to Trenton,” Sipos said in a release Tuesday. “Having served on the township committee for a number of years, I know the importance of balancing things like fiscal responsibility, open space preservation, and supporting our first responders – and getting it all done in a collaborative manner that benefits all residents.”
Though the 16th could be competitive in a strong GOP year, Democrats entered the year with the advantage. Former Vice President Kamala Harris beat President Donald Trump in the district by 14 percentage points, and Drulis and Freiman won their seats by respectable margins in a testy 2023 election.
Payne first won election to the Hillsborough Council in 2023. Sipos is in his second term as a Raritan Township committeeman. Sipos served as mayor in 2024.
“I have spent my career helping to make systems work better for the end users, whether that is in state and local government, or for major corporations,” Payne said in a release. “I believe that those skills will be critical to making Trenton work better for every resident, which is often not the case today.”
The 16th legislative district consists of pieces of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset counties.
This post was updated at 1:21 p.m. to include statements from Payne and Sipos.