Paul Duggan, an odd duck from Bergen County who made nine unsuccessful bids for public office in New Jersey between 2007 and 2022, has finally won an election.
He was elected to the Republican Central Committee in Talbot County, Maryland, in Tuesday’s GOP primary. He finished tied for sixth in a field of nine candidates for nine seats.
Talbott County, located on the eastern shore of Maryland, has a population of 37,526, which means Duggan’s ability to finally win an election came in a county roughly the size of Ewing Township. Talbott is politically competitive: Donald Trump carried it by six votes in 2024.
Duggan came within 123 votes of defeating Bergenfield Mayor Norman Schmelz in the Republican primary for Bergen County Executive in 2018.
He lost races for Bergen County Freeholder in 2007 and 2008, for Bogota Borough Council in 2009 and 2011, and for State Senate in 2013. He was defeated in the Republican primaries for State Assembly in 2017 and for county commissioner in 2022.
In 2020, he briefly sought the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th district against Rep. Josh Gottheimer (R-Tenafly).
Duggan recently moved to Maryland; he sold his house in New Jersey last summer.
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