Loads of money all around in LD24 Assembly primary

The race for two open Assembly seats in the strongly Republican 24th legislative district has attracted a huge amount of campaign cash, with two slates of GOP candidates raising and spending tens of thousands of dollars.

Winning the money game so far is the slate of Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia (R-Franklin) and Chester Township Mayor Mike Inganamort; they collectively spent $118,461 in the first four months of 2023 and have $122,859 left on-hand for the final month of the campaign.

Much of their cash comes from Inganamort, who gave his mayoral campaign around $80,000 last year that he promptly transferred over to his Assembly campaign.

Fantasia and Inganamort could also be the beneficiaries of spending from Assemblyman Parker Space (R-Wantage), who leads their ticket. Space is uncontested for the 24th district’s Senate seat, so he may decide his $42,740 would best be used to boost his running mates.

Opposing Space’s slate are Warren County Commissioner Jason Sarnoski (R-Independence) and Lafayette Board of Education President Josh Aikens. They spent $76,225 and have $65,841 remaining on-hand, most of which is located in Sarnoski’s account.

A fifth Assembly candidate, Robert Kovic, has not made much of an impact on the race, though his fundraising was better than might have been expected. He raised $18,283 and has $7,714 left on-hand.