DeAngelo: Mercer overlooked as Dem stronghold

Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo said observers are missing Mercer County’s power as a Democratic bloc.

“It’s just an oversight. I don’t think we’re being disrespected, but being the capital region, and we’re strongly Democratic, even more so than those that are quote-un-quote the Democratic strongholds,” he said. “We’re trying to stand up and let ourselves be known.”

After wins in Hamilton and Hopewell this year, Democrats now control all but one local seat in towns that hold partisan elections.

Hightstown Councilman Lee Stults is the only Republican elected in a partisan race in the entirety of Mercer County.

His seat is up for election next year, giving Democrats there the chance to make Mercer County the second county in the state to have one-party rule from the top down.

Hudson County beat Mercer to the punch, though the capital county is still ahead of traditional Democratic strongholds like Camden and Essex Counties in terms of the share of local seats controlled by Republicans.