Tom Kean, Jr. won the Somerset County Republican convention on Tuesday, giving him a clean sweep of Republican organization lines in his bid to oust Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in New Jersey’s 7th district.
Kean defeated Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Franklin) by a wide margin, 85 to 47 (59%-33%), with John Henry Isemann finishing third with 10 votes (7%). U.S. Navy veteran Sterling Irwin Schwab received 2 votes (1%), with no votes going to Fredon Mayor John Floria or salon owner Rob Trugman.
Phil Rizzo, a former pastor and real estate developer who ran for governor last year, has barely registered at GOP conventions. He did not compete in Somerset.
Kean, the former minority leader of the New Jersey State Senate, ends the convention season with organization lines in Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset and Union counties and the endorsement of the Warren County Republicans and is the clear front runner to win the GOP nomination, although the primary is by no means a done deal.
Two years ago, Kean came within one percentage point of unseating Malinowski in a district that has become more favorable to Republicans after congressional redistricting.
Peterson has represented parts of Somerset County in the legislature for the last decade; Bedminster, Bridgewater, Peapack-Gladstone and Raritan are in the 7th.
Isemann, a 27-year-old who gave up his Wall Street job to head up a humanitarian mission in Central America, has connected with county committee voters in his first run for office. He scored a solid third-place finish in Hunterdon and forced Kean into a runoff in Morris – an organization line Kean won by a 2-1 margin one week later.
Kevin Dorlon, a licensed public works contractor, also did not compete.
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