After being tied, Democrat ahead by 1 vote in South Toms River mayoral race

This story was updated at 10:12 PM.

The race for mayor of South Toms River is separated by a single vote, with Democratic challenger Gigi Esparza holding a 436-435 lead over Republican incumbent Oscar Cradle in a borough where a previous deadlocked election led to a lengthy court battle and a do-over election sixteen months later.

With all three election districts reporting, Esparza has 49.89% of the vote to Cradle’s 49.77%, with three write-in votes accounting for the remainder.

Twelve ballots remain outstanding, including one ballot still to be processed and eleven provisional ballots, according to a periodic report filed today by the Ocean County Board of Elections with the state Division of Elections after additional mail-in ballots were counted.

That differs from an earlier report showing nine outstanding ballots, including four awaiting processing and five provisional ballots.

But not all provisional ballots will necessarily be approved and counted, and it remains unclear how many voters have received cure letters allowing them to correct deficiencies in their mail-in ballots.  Those ballots could also affect the outcome of the race, leaving the precise number of votes still in play uncertain.

The razor-thin margin could also lead to a recount or legal challenge.

Cradle is seeking a second four-year term as mayor.

Esparza was appointed mayor in 2022, lost her council seat in 2023, and unsuccessfully sought a return to the council in 2024.  She was the Democratic nominee for State Assembly in the 10th legislative district in 2025, losing to Republican incumbents Greg McGuckin (R-Toms River) and Paul Kanitra (R-Point Pleasant Beach), and is a former member of the Toms River Regional Board of Education.

Democrats have already scored a significant victory down the ballot, winning two seats on the six-member borough council, which is currently entirely Republican.

Democrat Jacqueline Burns led the council field with 459 votes, followed by running mate Christina Mertz with 453. Republican Councilman Sandford Ross received 402 votes, while Republican Crystal Wurst finished fourth with 382.

Ross was seeking re-election, while Wurst was running for an open seat after Republican Councilman Edward Murray decided not to seek another term.

The Democratic victories will reduce the Republican council majority to 4-2, regardless of who wins the mayoral race.

South Toms River has a history of exceptionally close elections, including a 2020 council race that remained unresolved until March 2022.

In that contest, Ross and Democrat George Rutzler each received 772 votes for the second of two council seats. Murray had won the other seat.

A challenge by Democrats led the Ocean County Board of Elections to invalidate two mail-in ballots cast by elderly voters who signed their ballots, not just the envelopes.  That gave Rutzler a two-vote victory, and he was sworn into office.

Ross challenged the decision, arguing that the ballots should have been counted because the voters had not intended to identify themselves or compromise ballot secrecy.

The two voters, one a World War II veteran in his 90s and the other a man in his 80s, testified that they had never voted by mail before and believed they were required to sign their ballots for their votes to count.

In April 2021, Superior Court Judge Arnold Goldman reinstated the ballots, restoring the tie, removed Rutzler from office, and ordered a special election for June.

But the Ocean County Board of Elections appealed Goldman’s ruling, and the special election was canceled even though some ballots had already been cast.

The dispute continued in court, leaving the council seat vacant for months.

In December 2021, a three-judge appellate panel upheld Goldman’s ruling, finding that the voters had not intended to identify or distinguish their ballots and that their votes should be counted.

The court decision cleared the way for a new election, but the delays meant that the contest could not be held alongside the November 2021 general election.

Instead, voters returned to the polls on March 15, 2022, more than sixteen months after the original election.

Ross won the do-over election decisively, defeating Rutzler, 250-142, with 64% of the vote. Turnout was just 15.9%, and the stand-alone election cost taxpayers an estimated $80,000.

The dispute also raised questions about New Jersey’s handling of tied elections, which can require judicial intervention and a new election when neither candidate receives more votes than the other.

South Toms River has become increasingly competitive despite Ocean County’s strong Republican leanings. Donald Trump carried the borough by six percentage points in 2024, but Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill won it by eight points in 2025. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker carried South Toms River by sixteen points in Tuesday’s election.

The mayoral race remains unresolved as election officials determine which outstanding ballots can be counted and whether they will accept additional votes through the ballot-curing process.

The results remain unofficial until Ocean County election officials certify them.