Sampson defeats Stamato in Hudson Assembly race

Assemblyman William Sampson (D-Bayonne) has won the Democratic nomination for State Assembly in the 31st district, defeating another incumbent, Barbara McCann Stamato, in a close primary.

Sampson leads Stamato by 198 votes, 7,523 to 7,325.

There are 698 provisional ballots and 70 vote-by-mail ballots still remaining.  It’s not clear how many of these ballots will be accepted and ultimately counted, and some of them could be from Republicans.  Stamato would need to win more than 60% of those votes to keep her seat.

Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker captured the other Assembly nomination in the district, which includes Bayonne, Kearny, and part of Jersey City.  He was the top vote-getter with 8,869.   A fourth candidate, Bayonne Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer, received 7,111 votes.

Stamato conceded her primary loss this morning.

“In this current political climate, it is more important than ever that we elect strong Democrats up and down the ballot,” she said. “As chairwoman of the Jersey City Democratic Committee, I remain committed to doing my part to ensure Democratic victories across the board.”

She becomes the second incumbent legislator in the state to lose a primary election: Assemblywoman Garnet Hall (D-Maplewood) lost her bid for a second term.

Stamato and Weimmer had run on a slate with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.  Sampson, a longshoreman who ran with Stamato in 2023, teamed up with Walker on the organization ticket.

Democrats had no gripe with Stamato, a longtime Jersey City insider, and had sought to negotiate a unity ticket that would have allowed her to remain in office, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

The Hudson County Democratic Organization has now won four of the six Assembly seats in the county, with one more contest in the 32nd district still too close to call.   Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla narrowly leads Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez (D-Jersey City); Katie Brennan has won the nomination for the seat of retiring Assemblyman John Allen (D-Hoboken).

Sampson was elected in 2021 after Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis decided to replace Assembly Majority Whip Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D-Bayonne).  Stamato was elected two years ago to succeed now-State Sen. Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City).