Greenwald, Kane win in LD6

Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D-Voorhees) and Assemblywoman Melinda Kane (D-Cherry Hill) have won re-election in the 6th legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects, holding onto a Cherry Hill-based seat that hasn’t elected a Republican in decades.

As of 11:52 p.m. and with nearly all votes counted, Greenwald and Kane hold a 68%-32% lead over their Republican foes, registered nurse Peter Sykes and former IBM executive Jack Brangan.

Greenwald’s career in Trenton is close to hitting three decades: he flipped a GOP-held Assembly seat in 1995, when he was in his 20s, and at 58 is the longest-serving current member of the Assembly. He’s been the Assembly’s majority leader, its #2 position, since 2012, a time period that has spanned three different Assembly Speakers.

His seatmate, Kane, is far newer. A former county commissioner and a Gold Star mother, Kane was chosen at a special election convention earlier this year to replace Pamela Lampitt, who is now the Camden County Clerk.

The two Democrats faced little threat from Republicans in the deep-blue 6th district, but they did have to get through an unexpectedly close Democratic primary. Gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop recruited two challengers, former Clementon school board member Becky Holloway and national security professional Kevin Ryan, to run against them, and Holloway in particular gave the party organization a run for its money, losing to Greenwald 29%-24%.

The relatively close call will likely put the South Jersey Democratic organization on guard ahead of 2027, when 79-year-old State Sen. James Beach (D-Oaklyn) will be up for re-election as well.