Walker wins 31st district nomination; three-way race for second place is too close to call

The New Jersey Globe projects Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker (D-Jersey City) has secured a Democratic nomination to the Assembly, but a three-way race for the second nomination in the 31st legislative district is too close to call. 

Assemblywoman Barbara McCann Stamato (D-Jersey City), Assemblyman William Sampson (D-Bayonne), and Bayonne Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer are separated by just over 200 votes as of 1 a.m. Twenty-four precincts have yet to report votes in the Hudson County district, according to unofficial election results. 

The Hudson County Democratic Organization backed Sampson and Walker under the party slogan. McCann Stamato and Weimmer allied with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who included them on his Democrats for Change slate. Walker’s victory means at least one incumbent will lose their seat.

Walker has received 7,461 votes, securing first. In the race for second place, McCann Stamato has received 6,725 votes, Sampson has received 6,528, and Weimmer has received 6,503. 

Walker had finished third in a 2024 congressional primary.

The 31st, which includes Jersey City, Bayonne, and Kearny, was a major front for the war between the Hudson organization and Fulop.

Two Republicans, realtor Anthony Acosta and 2021 state Senate candidate Neil Schulman, filed, though the November race is not expected to be competitive.