Del Borrello wins GOP nomination in one of N.J.’s most competitive districts

Former Washington Township Councilman Chris Del Borrello has defeated Gloucester County Commissioner Nick DeSilvio (R-Franklin) in the Republican primary for State Senate in the 4th legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects, bringing an end to what may have been this year’s bitterest primary contest.

As of 11:22 p.m., Del Borrello has 61% of the vote to DeSilvio’s 38%, and is leading in all three of the district’s counties.

Del Borrello’s Assembly running mates, former Buena Councilman Matt Walker and Amanda Esposito, were also victorious against DeSilvio’s running mates, Denise Gonzalez and Michael Clark, as well as a fifth Assembly candidate, John Keating. Walker and Esposito currently have 60% of the vote combined.

Team Del Borrello now moves on to their next tough fight: a general election contest against Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-Washington), who’s leading the ticket to succeed retiring State Sen. Fred Madden (D-Washington). After being substantially altered by redistricting, the 4th district is among the most competitive districts in the state, and South Jersey Democrats are sure to spend heavily to retain it.

Just a few months ago, DeSilvio looked like the odds-on favorite to be the GOP standard-bearer in the district. He had the support of the GOP organization in Gloucester County, home to a majority of the district’s Republican voters, and no one else seemed obviously interested in taking him on.

But Atlantic GOP chairman Don Purdy, frustrated that DeSilvio and Gloucester Republicans had refused to put Walker on their ticket, started casting around for an alternative. He found one in Del Borrello, who had served on the council in Washington Township, the district’s second-largest municipality, from 2011 to 2015.  The win gives Purdy outsized influence in South Jersey. 

From there, everything started going right for Del Borrello. While Atlantic County only makes up a small portion of the 4th district, Del Borrello also wrested away the Camden GOP line from DeSilvio, giving him party support in around half the district.

What’s more, Del Borrello and his slate in Gloucester County had the good fortune to draw Column A – the best primary ballot position. For voters not overly familiar with the race, Del Borrello’s slate looked like it had the party line, rather than DeSilvio’s slate.

DeSilvio tried to make up for his disadvantages with an aggressive campaign that took deeply conservative stances – at a New Jersey Globe/Save Jersey-hosted debate, he said he’d look to ban abortion after “four to six weeks” – and pulled in prominent surrogates like neighboring State Sen. Ed Durr (R-Logan) and potential 2025 gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea.

DeSilvio and Del Borrello also went toe-to-toe on a pair of personal attacks: DeSilvio hit Del Borrello for the unsavory nature of his family’s defunct business, while Del Borrello said DeSilvio’s offensive social media posts would be a major liability in the general election.

Ultimately, though, DeSilvio couldn’t overcome his geographic disadvantages and the onslaught of spending from Del Borrello and his allies at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825.

One interested party that’s likely disappointed in the results: South Jersey Democrats, who spent close to $100,000 on campaign material attacking Del Borrello. The spending was clearly an attempt to boost DeSilvio, whom they believed to be a weaker candidate – but it also has the added benefit of damaging Del Borrello in advance of the highly competitive general election.