NJ-6 backs Pallone for 17th term

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) will win a 17th term in term in the House of Representatives, the New Jersey Globe projects.

He will beat Republican challenger Christian Onuoha, a 27-year-old who won the GOP nod in a write-in campaign launched after he and primary opponent Sammy Gindi both failed to gather enough nominating petition signatures to get on the ballot.

Onuoho never really had a chance in the solidly Democratic sixth congressional district.

Had he faced a credible challenge, the incumbent likely would have had national resources at his back. Pallone chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a position that brings health care, the environment and telecommunications into his purview and makes him one of the most powerful Democrats in the chamber.

He’s also a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.).

Republicans last won a race in the sixth in 1981, 10 years before Norcross began his 27-year career in Congress.