Republicans in the Bergen County-based 38th district backed Paramus Councilman Robert Kaiser and former Glen Rock Planning Board member Barry Wilkes for State Assembly.
Kaiser (91) and Wilkes (77) defeated Trevor Ferrigno (54) and Jerry Taylor (20), who lost races for Assembly in 2021 and Saddle Brook councilman in 2022. Ferrigno was an independent candidate for Congress in 2022, receiving three-tenths of one percent against Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly). Perennial candidate Paul Duggan received no votes.
The win gives Kaiser and Wilkes the right to use the organization slogan in the June 10 Republican primary.
Incumbents Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn) and Chris Tully (D-Bergenfield) are seeking re-election but must first win a contested primary against candidates allied with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop.
Donald Trump carried the 38th by 65 votes against Kamala Harris last year in a district that Joe Biden carried by fourteen points in 2020, giving some Republicans room for optimism in a district that hasn’t elected a GOP legislator since 2001.
In 2023, Wilkes ran six percentage points behind Tully. The 38th includes Bergenfield, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Little Ferry, Lodi, Maywood, Moonachie, New Milford, Oradell, Paramus, River Edge, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, South Hackensack, and Teterboro.
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