In a five-way Republican primary for Sussex County Commissioner, incumbent Chris Carney and his running mate, Lafayette Mayor Alan Henderson, have defeated interim Commissioner Earl Schick and two others, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 10:22 p.m., Carney has 35% of the vote, and Henderson has 26%; Schick is at 15%.
Two candidates backed by controversial clodpoll political consultant Bill Winkler are in fourth and fifth place: Rob Kovic is at 14% and Byram Councilman Harvey Roseff is at 10%.
Carney, a county commissioner since 2021 and a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, had allied himself with Henderson instead of Schick, who became a county commissioner in February after Dawn Fantasia (R-Franklin) left to become an assemblywoman. At a special election convention, Schick defeated Henderson by nineteen votes, 71-52.
Kovic, a former councilman in a South Bergen town who now lives in Sparta, has now lost his third race. He made a brief run for Congress in 2022 – he dropped out before the primary but after securing the endorsement of retired General Michael Flynn – and won 5% in a GOP Assembly primary in 2023.
Looming large in the Republican primary was disgraced County Commissioner Bill Hayden, who got caught lying about serving in the military; his former wife, stepson, and other friends have validated the stolen valor allegations. Kovic is Hayden’s attorney.
Last week, Republican County Chairman Joseph LaBarbera won a default judgment on a defamation lawsuit against Kelly Ann Hart, a former Sussex GOP vice chair and Winkler ally. In March, Hayden settled a lawsuit filed by a former state trooper who wanted her $100 campaign contribution back after learning of the Stolen Valor Scandal.
LaBarbera, a former Tea Party leader and U.S. Army veteran, was elected in 2023 with the backing of the Winkler, whose tactics quickly offended the new county chairman. Kovic had briefly been the party’s executive director.
State Sen. Parker Space (R-Wantage) has split his endorsement, backing Carney and Schick.
Henderson, a retired Hardyston police officer, is the father-in-law of conservative leader Josh Aikens, a school board member in Lafayette. Henderson’s candidacy had Aikens backing the entire ticket, putting him on the same side as past rivals in this year’s primary.
Democrats haven’t won a countywide election in Sussex since Howard Burrell narrowly ousted Republican Freeholder Richard Durina by about 500 votes in 1999. Since Sussex is a one-party county – the GOP has a 2-1 voter registration edge – elections are decided in primaries.
One year ago, 24-year-old Jack DeGroot ousted Herb Yardley, a two-term incumbent nearly three times his age, by nearly 24 percentage points in the GOP primary.