Bergen, Webber win in LD26

Assemblymen Brian Bergen (R-Denville) and Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) have won re-election in the 26th legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects, keeping two of Trenton’s most prominent conservative voices in office.

The pair of assemblymen won by a smaller margin in their Morris County district than might have been expected, however. As of 11:44 p.m. and with nearly all votes counted, Webber has 27% of the vote and Bergen has 26.5%; Democrats Michael Mancuso, a service technician, and Walter Mielarczyk, an engineer, have 23.6% and 22.9%.

Webber, first elected in 2007, has long been something of a hero for conservatives in a state where Republicans often hew more moderate. In 2018, he was the Republican nominee for U.S. House against Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, but he lost by a wide margin.

Bergen is much newer to the legislature, having first arrived in 2020, but he’s quickly made a name for himself as a maverick unafraid to confront Democrats in Trenton over issues other Republicans would have let slide. Bergen was initially elected to the 25th district, but redistricting ahead of the 2023 elections shifted his home of Denville into the 26th district.

In 2023, Bergen, Webber, and State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-Montville) faced a serious challenge from a group of discontented local Republicans, among them former Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce (R-Parsippany), but won by a healthy margin. This year, no Republicans decided to challenge them, and even with Sherrill at the top of the Democratic ticket, Democrats had little optimism that they could flip the district blue.