For generations, Hunterdon County has been a Republican bastion, often grouped with Warren and Sussex counties because of its rural character and strong Republican tilt. Hunterdon was one of only four counties in the state — along with Sussex, Warren, and Salem — where conservative former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan defeated Chris Christie in the 2009 Republican gubernatorial primary, underscoring the county’s strong conservative lean.
Hunterdon remains Republican today, having supported Donald Trump in all three of his presidential runs by 14 points in 2016, by 4 points in 2020 and by 7 points in 2024, rejecting Gov. Phil Murphy twice and Gov. Mikie Sherrill by 5 points last year. Still, its once-solid ruby-red status has grown lighter over the last decade. Hunterdon was one of only two counties to move leftward between the 2017 and 2021 gubernatorial elections, despite the statewide margin shifting from D+14 to D+3 this year.
With 2026 shaping up to be — if the national prognosticators are a Democratic-leaning year, Hunterdon Republicans may be in for a challenge. Democrats have reason for optimism, but they face a daunting history: Democrats haven’t won a countywide election in Hunterdon since 1979.
Republicans have also fared much better in countywide contests. Sheriff Fred Brown was re-elected by fourteen points in 2025, while Republican incumbent county commissioners won by fourteen points in 2024.
The last time a Democrat carried the county in a statewide election was in Gov. Brendan Byrne’s 1977 re-election.
Back when a 21-member State Senate included one seat for each county, regardless of population, lawmakers like Horace Prall, Arthur Foran, Samuel Bodine and Wesley Lance wielded enormous power based on their political and intellectual acumen, their personalities, and the fact that a senator from Hunterdon had the same vote as his colleague from Bergen and Essex.
Republicans are uncontested in one Township Committee seat in Alexandria, Bethlehem, Bloomsbury, Clinton Township, Franklin, Hampton, Holland, Kingwood, the mayoralty in Lebanon Borough, Lebanon Township, one borough council seat in Milford, and Union Township.
Democrats are uncontested in one borough council seat in Califon Borough (no one has filed to run for the other seat), East Amwell, both Borough Council seats in Flemington, Frenchtown, Lambertville, one borough council seat in Milford, and Stockton.
Independents are uncontested in the mayoralty of Califon and one committee seat in Tewksbury.
U.S. Senate
Two-term Sen. Cory Booker is seeking another term in Washington. Booker has never won Hunterdon County in any of his previous Senate campaigns. He lost Hunterdon by 24 points to former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan in the 2013 New Jersey Senate special election, by 20 points to former Reagan speechwriter Jeff Bell in 2014, and by 9 points to pharmaceutical executive Rik Mehta in 2020. (Bell won Hunterdon twice: in his 1978 Senate race against Bill Bradley, he carried the county by 13 points; he also won Hunterdon in the GOP primary against four-term incumbent Clifford Case.)
Booker faces former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy this year. Curtis Bashaw, the 2024 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, carried Hunterdon by 7 points.
7th Congressional District
The 7th congressional district includes all of Hunterdon County.
Two-term Rep. Tom Kean (R-Westfield) is seeking re-election. Hunterdon casts the third-most votes in the district as a whole, behind the Somerset and Union County portions. Kean has won Hunterdon by wider margins than his districtwide wins in both of his successful congressional runs: by 8 points in 2022 on his way to a 3-point district margin, and by 10 points on his way to a 6-point district margin.
Kean will need to maintain the margins he has posted in Hunterdon in his two successful runs to be successful.
Kean faces former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennet this November. Bennet will look to cut into that margin as much as possible. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski’s (D-Ringoes) first successful congressional run in 2018 came when he was able to shrink the Republican margin of Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) by 15 points in Hunterdon, making it go from R+24 to R+9 on his way to a six-point district-wide victory, flipping what was, up until that point, a GOP stronghold. The 2020s iteration of NJ-7 is More Republican than the 2010s iteration.
County Clerk
Republican Clerk Mary Melfi is seeking a fifth five-year term this year. She is facing Democrat Caitlin Giles-McCormick, a former Flemington councilwoman who now works for the Sherrill administration.
Melfi, an election law expert with a history of running fair elections for both parties, began as a Flemington councilwoman in 1994 and was elected county clerk in 2006 after Dorothy Tirpok retired. Democrats did not field an opponent against Melfi in 2021.
County Commissioner
Republican Commissioner Shaun Van Doren is seeking another three-year term this year. Van Doren, a former mayor of Tewksbury and current township historian, was first elected county commissioner in 2018. He was re-elected 57%-43% in 2023.
Van Doren faces ex-congressional candidate Jason Blazakis this year.
Blazakis joined the State Department in 2004 as an Afghanistan program officer assigned to the Embassy in Kabul. He had previously spent more than three years as a legislative assistant to Rep. Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. He worked as a Domestic Intelligence analyst at the Congressional Research Service.
A counterterrorism and economic sanctions expert who grew up in Warren County and now lives in Lambertville, Blazakis joined the race to take on Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district in June 2023. He withdrew from the race in February 2024, just before the start of county convention season.
Republicans currently control all seats on the board of commissioners, and Democrats have not won a commissioner seat since 1979 when Benjamin Kirkland was re-elected to a third term.
Alexandria
Republican Committeeman Robert Mortara is seeking re-election, with James Kiernan seeking to fill the seat of retiring Republican Committeeman Brad Patkochis. The pair faces only one Democratic opponent this year: Democratic newcomer Melody Fogarty.
Republicans currently control all three seats on the township committee.
Alexandria is a Republican stronghold, giving Donald Trump a 22-point win in 2024. Jack Ciattarelli won Alexandria by 21 points in 2025.
Clinton Town
Democratic councilmembers John Kashwick and Kimberly Stentz are seeking re-election to Clinton Town’s Common Council. Republicans Susan DeGasperis, a teacher, and political newcomer Jonathan Price are challenging them.
The Common Council is currently a 3-3 split with Democratic Mayor Janic Kovach. This election could give Republicans control or keep the council tied.
Clinton Town, not to be confused with nearby Clinton Township, is one of Hunterdon County’s most competitive municipalities. Kamala Harris carried the town by 7 points in 2024. Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried the town by 11 points in 2025 over Jack Ciattarelli, who carried the town by 3 points over Gov. Murphy in 2021.
Delaware
Democratic committeewoman Susan Lockwood is seeking re-election along with fellow Democrat Kathleen Klink, a teacher, who is seeking to flip the seat of retiring Republican Committeeman Charles Hernan. Challenging them are Republicans Nathaniel Miller and Mark Wright, both members of the township planning board, who are seeking to hold Hernan’s seat for the GOP and flip Lockwood’s.
Republicans currently have a 3-2 majority on the township committee, and this election could determine control.
Delaware Township is one of only two towns in New Jersey — the other being Millstone in Somerset County — that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried Delaware by two points in 2025 after Jack Ciattarelli carried it by 12 points in 2021.
Flemington
Republican Mayor Marcia Karrow faces off against Democratic Councilwoman Susan Engelhardt. Karrow is a former assemblywoman and state senator for the 23rd legislative district. Engelhardt was first elected to the council in 2022 and was re-elected in 2025.
Democrats currently hold all seats on the borough council.
Democrats are unopposed in the two borough council seats up this year.
Flemington is Democratic-leaning at the top of the ticket. Kamala Harris carried Flemington by 13 points over Donald Trump in 2024, and Gov. Mikie Sherrill prevailed in the borough by 26 points in 2025.
Glen Gardner
Republican Borough Councilmember Michael Gronau is seeking re-election with fellow Republican Robert Newland, the owner of McPhearson and Newland Insurance, who is seeking the seat currently held by retiring Republican Councilmember Don Robertella. Challenging them are Democrats Tom Davis, the Glen Gardner Democratic Municipal chair, and Russel Taylor. Both Taylor and Russell have run for office before.
Glen Gardner’s Borough Council is currently controlled by all Republicans, with a Republican mayor.
The town leans Republican at the top of the ticket, with Donald Trump carrying the borough by 8 points in 2024. In 2025, however, the borough was evenly divided between Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli, with each receiving exactly 380 votes.
High Bridge
Democratic Mayor Michele Lee is retiring. Democratic Councilwoman Kelly Matos is seeking to replace her; she is being challenged by Republican former Mayor Al Schweiker, who served as mayor from 1994-2007.
Democratic Councilwoman Natalie Ferry is seeking re-election, while fellow Democrat Joseph Brosnan is running for the seat currently held by Matos. Challenging them are Republican newcomers Jon Sciarrino and Stephanie Vasallo.
Democrats currently have a 4-2 majority on the High Bridge Borough Council. This year’s election is a battle for control.
High Bridge is a competitive borough. Jack Ciattarelli won High Bridge by 5 points in 2021 over Gov. Murphy. Gov. Mikie Sherrill beat him four years later by a 15-point margin. Kamala Harris carried High Bridge by nine points in 2024.
Lebanon Borough
Republican Mayor Sam Berger is uncontested.
Democratic Councilwoman Marlene Baldinger is seeking re-election. Baldinger is running with Democratic newcomer Ed DePaola. Republican Councilwoman Lisa Porcello is retiring. Republicans are running former Councilman James Lance, the brother of former Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton), and newcomer farmer Jeffrey Spencer.
The borough council is currently evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans at 3-3, with the council electing one Democrat and one Republican in 2023, two Republicans in 2024, and two Democrats in 2025.
Lebanon Borough is more Republican-leaning at the top of the ticket. Donald Trump carried the borough by 12 points in 2024. Jack Ciattarelli carried it by eight points over Gov. Mikie Sherrill in 2025.
Raritan
Republican Mayor Brad Perry is seeking another term, along with Republican Darlene Kuhl, the president of the Raritan Township Republican Club, who is seeking to replace retiring Republican Committeewoman Robyn Fatooh. Challenging them are Democrats Adam Pianka and Rachael White; this is White’s second run for township committee.
Republicans currently hold all seats on the township committee.
Raritan is Republican-leaning but not overwhelmingly so. Jack Ciattarelli won here by 2.5 points, and Donald Trump did one point better, prevailing by 3.5 points in 2024.
Readington
Republican Readington Township Committee members John Albanese and Jonathan Heller are not seeking re-election. Albanese pleaded guilty earlier this year to creating a public nuisance after admitting he stole campaign signs during the 2024 Republican primary, a plea agreement that allowed him to avoid a criminal conviction.
Republicans Trevor Izzo and Eric Rhoades are running for both open seats. The road for Izzo and Rhoades to be the Republican nominees this year was particularly nasty. Two factions of the local Republican Party have been battling for the last few years.
The organization backed Izzo and Rhoades, while the more conservative faction endorsed Jon Kowal and Lisa Routel. Izzo secured the first spot comfortably, but after a recount, Rhoades beat Kowal by only four votes.
Democrats are running Rene Rao, chair of the Readington Museum Committee, and Dale Hwang, the committee’s treasurer-in-training.
Republicans currently control all seats on the township committee.
Readington is Republican-leaning. At the top of the ticket, Donald Trump carried the township by 15 points in 2024. Jack Ciattarelli won the township by 14 points over Gov. Mikie Sherrill in 2025.
West Amwell
Republican Committeeman Robert Balaam is seeking re-election; Democrat John Dale is challenging him. This is Dale’s second run for council, and his second time running against incumbent Balaam. He ran for township committee as a Republican in 2023 and lost the Republican primary to Balaam. Dale is making his first run for office as a Democrat.
Republicans currently control West Amwell’s Township Committee with a 4-1 majority.
West Amwell is Republican-leaning at the top of the ticket. Donald Trump carried it by just over three points in 2024, while also voting for Sen. Andy Kim on the same ballot by less than a point over Curtis Bashaw. Jack Ciattarelli also carried the township by just over two points in 2025.