Cumberland County Republicans today endorsed Lawrence Moore and Ed Ramsay as their candidates for State Assembly in the 3rd district, one of the most competitive legislative districts in the state.
Moore, the deputy mayor of Harrison Township, and Ramsay, a Salem County commissioner, defeated Gloucester County Commissioner Chris Konawel at the GOP convention this morning. Two other candidates, former Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer (R-Woolwich) and Jason Witcher, a former municipal court judge, did not compete.
The five Republicans want to take on freshmen Democrats Heather Simmons (D-Glassboro) and Dave Bailey, Jr. (D-Woodstown) in the general election.
In the governor’s race, Jack Ciattarelli won Cumberland by acclamation. He has the backing of State Sen. Michael Testa, Jr. (R-Vineland), the GOP county chairman.
Sawyer was the upset winner in a 2021 campaign for the Assembly, ousting incumbents John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) and Adam Taliaferro (D-Woolwich) in a South Jersey district that Jack Ciattarelli carried by almost sixteen percentage points against Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. She defeated Burzichelli, a 22-year incumbent, by 2,854 votes.
In 2023, Sawyer challenged State Sen. Ed Durr (R-Logan) in the Republican primary and lost, 65%-25%. Durr had ousted Senate President Steve Sweeney by a 52%-48% margin in 2021.
In the general election, Burzichelli unseated Durr by a 53.4% to 46.2% margin.
Democrats flipped two Assembly seats in the 3rd in 2023: Heather Simmons (D-Glassboro), a Gloucester County Commissioner, and non-profit executive Dave Bailey, Jr. (D-Woodstown) beat Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-Mannington), who had run with Sawyer in 2021, and Hopewell Township Committeeman Thomas Tedesco. McCarthy Patrick came within 1,215 votes of winning a second term.
The 3rd district, which includes parts of Gloucester and Cumberland counties and all of Salem, went for Donald Trump by a 7.5% margin last year. Trump won the district by 2.7 points in 2020.
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