Brick is a GOP strongold where Democrats have a local majority. Now Republicans want it back

Two years ago, Brick voters split their ticket in a big way, with Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli receiving 69% of the vote while the township’s popular Democratic mayor, John Ducey, won a third term with 63%. 

With Ducey settled into his new post as a Superior Court judge, New Jersey’s 13th-largest municipality will be the site of one of the most important and competitive mayoral elections this year.   

The race sees incumbent Democratic mayor Lisa Crate – who assumed the mayorship in February following Ducey’s resignation – defending the office against two-term Assemblyman John Catalano (R-Brick).  

Based on numbers alone, this race should not be competitive – it should be a clear win for Republicans. But Brick’s electorate has shown a willingness to deliver huge margins to national, state, and Republicans while doubling down on a significant Democratic majority in local government.   

In deeply red Ocean County, Donald Trump scored 61% of the vote in Brick in the last presidential election; in 2019, Catalano and Crate, running for the Assembly and Township Council, respectively, received roughly the same level of support from local voters.   

Ducey became Brick’s mayor in 2013, winning 61% of the vote. He would go on to win re-election in 2017 with 66% and again in 2021 with 63%. Along with Ducey, Democrats have won – and maintained – six of the seven town council seats. Brick, at the local level, is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Crate has won townwide elections twice, both times by huge margins.   

The disparity between Brick’s Republican leanings –evidenced by the town’s historical voting record in state and federal races – and the town’s apparent propensity to elect local Democrats has attracted much attention.  

In an age so defined by partisanship, Brick stands out as a still competitive town; retail politics – knocking on doors, meeting voters, making connections – still matters.  

Less concerned with ideological purity, Brick voters seek out who they believe will best serve them. 

“Even though Ocean County is an overwhelmingly one-party place, Brick voters have shown a propensity for taking a hard look at candidates of either party,” noted Micah Rasmussen, the Director of the Rebovich Institute for NJ Politics.  

When Ducey left office, Republicans and Democrats saw this race as an opportunity.

For Republicans, winning back the mayorship and maybe even the township council would expand their already-solid hold on Ocean County. 

Catalano is leading the charge to be that change agent who leads Republicans into local power. “I will be the voice for Brick Township to push back on woke policies,” he said in a statement to the Globe. “When time came to rerun for Assembly, and Ducey moved on to be judge, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to run for mayor of the town I love,” he added. 

Catalano says he is focused on local issues and being the voice for the residents of Brick, for which he views his experience in the Assembly as highly beneficial. 

“I have a better ability to serve Brick township as Mayor, but I still have contacts in Trenton to work things through,” he said. “I have people who can push back, and make the voice of Brick known.”  

The campaign trail has Catalano feeling good, as he knocks on doors and meets with voters. “When we ask people, ‘Can I get your vote?’, you can feel the difference in the response; feeling that they are going to make sure they are going to get out and vote” he said. 

“You will be a strong advocate for the people – a guy who believes in what is right,” Catalano said about what he offers Brick residents. 

On the flip side, Democrats believe they can maintain power and show their enduring strength in the town. 

While Catalano and the Republicans view pushing into ideology as key to energizing their base and winning the town – which is not an unfounded idea – Democrats, however, want to keep the focus on local issues and what local government can actually do. 

“When I’m knocking on doors, having one-on-one conversations, and when federal or national politics comes up, the first question I ask is what is going on in Brick,” Crate said. “Is your garbage getting picked up, are the streets clean, are the police responding?”

The interim mayor suggested that the Democratic administration has advocated for some issues that traditionally appeal to Republican voters.

“We are fiscally responsible,” she said. “We have maintained services in other areas – cut costs where we could, but do the same job for less.”

Crate’s campaign strategy accentuates that Democrats believe their path to victory runs through emphasizing their commitment to Brick and improving everyday life for Brick residents. “Brick has been successful – not because we’re Democrats – because you have a group of people who come together and say what can we do for this town and make it better,” Crate said. 

“I like people, like hearing people – what better way or role to do that than mayor,” Crate stated. 

Crate and Catalano have made it abundantly clear that they like their chances – they have different paths to victory, but both tracks are equally strong. 

“There is a history of voters looking beyond generic party labels, but you have to give them something that they can look at – something they can respond to,” said Rasmussen. “No one’s going to get this on the basis of falling back on being the same party as a predecessor, you’re going to have to prove it, knock on doors, make connections, and prove it.”  

As with all else in politics, money will be an important feature of this race. How much candidates raise directly impacts their campaign strategy – do they need to do more boots on the ground for door-to-door canvassing, or can they send direct mail? More phone calls by volunteers or more digital ads?  

These decisions are filtered through how much money a campaign has raised. While knocking on doors and phone banking will be essential regardless, if one candidate can supplement that outreach with a digital ad buy – or cable TV ads – it could tip the scales.  

Based on fundraising totals from the primaries, Republicans appear to have an edge. Catalano had raised $31,739.01 — he had transferred $7,939 from his Assembly campaign to the mayoral race –while Crate had $5,950. The roughly 6-to-1 cash advantage for Catalano is not insignificant. 

These numbers don’t include potential game-changing independent expenditures that could come from unions; the Ocean County Democratic chairman, Wyatt Earp, is an influential labor leader. And GOP County Chairman George Gilmore, who backed Catalano’s bid for higher office, is anxious to expand his own footprint into Brick.  

Still, these numbers should not be taken as indicative of current support or enthusiasm – given Crate is the interim incumbent and did not need to run a primary campaign. Both candidates will likely raise more money for the general and will work hard to win this race. 

“Brick can be a competitive place, where anyone can make a real hard run – again, it will be the hard work they do, the hard campaigning they do, not because they fall back on ideology,” said Rasmussen.  

Brick should not be viewed as a bellwether – it is a Republican town – but if Democrats do well, it might signal the validation that Brick residents are happy with the quality of local government services they receive, despite their preference for Republicans in the White House and the statehouse.