Jack DeGroot, a 24-year-old farmer and graduate student, has unseated Sussex County Commissioner Herb Yardley (R-Stillwater) in the county’s Republican primary, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 10:29 p.m., DeGroot has 53% of the vote, well ahead of Yardley’s 30%. A third candidate, Republican state committeeman Nick D’Agostino, got the remaining 17%.
Yardley, a former mayor of Stillwater, was first elected to the board of county commissioners (then freeholders) in 2017 after defeating former Sussex GOP chairwoman Ailish Hambel 60%-38% in the Republican primary.
But since Sussex County doesn’t have a county line, all three candidates this year appeared on the ballot as equals. DeGroot is now the heavy favorite to win the general election against Democrat Damaris Lira; Democrats haven’t won a countywide race in Sussex County since 1999.
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