Checking in on other notable local primaries

In addition to the top-billed primaries for the legislature and county office, dozens of municipalities held contested primaries last night, some of which were hotly contested. Here’s a list – but not an exhaustive one – of consequential results.

Atlantic City (D)

Atlantic City’s six ward-based council seats are up for election this year, and five of them hosted contested Democratic primaries. 

Most notably, embattled Ward 4 Councilman MD Hossain Morshed, who was federally charged in March with voter fraud and obtaining false unemployment benefits, appears to have lost the Democratic nomination to party-backed challenger George “Animal” Crouch. Crouch currently has 202 votes, or 30%, to Morshed’s 179 votes and 27%.

The race is even closer in the 2nd ward, where incumbent Councilwoman LaToya Dunston was ditched by the party and Mayor Marty Small in favor of challenger Vivi Bailey. Bailey leads Dunston by just four votes, 50.4%-49.6%.

The other three wards were less eventful; Ward 3 Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, Ward 5 Councilman Muhammad “Anjum” Zia, and Ward 6 candidate Geoffrey Dorsey all won easily on the party line.

Brooklawn (D)

Camden County Democrats suffered a rare loss in a race for the Brooklawn Borough Council, with off-the-line candidate Colin MacAdams coming in first place for two seats. Party-backed Councilman Jerry Granstrom won re-election, but it looks like fellow incumbent Michael Mevoli will soon be out of office after coming in third place.

East Hanover (R)

Just a few months after switching parties from Democrat to Republican, East Hanover Mayor Joseph Pannullo won renomination in a landslide, leading challenger Anthony Gelmi 85%-15%. Two party-switching councilmen, Frank DeMaio and Michael Martorelli, won their primary unopposed.

East Newark (D)

Four years after unseating 32-year incumbent Joe Smith in an off-the-line upset, East Newark Mayor Dina Grilo has easily secured renomination, this time with Hudson Democrats in her corner; she beat Councilwoman Jessica Diaz 82%-18%.

Englewood (D)

Democratic Englewood Ward 3 Councilwoman Judith Maron lost renomination 58%-42% to school board member Angela David, who was briefly suspended last year before being reinstated by acting Secretary of Education Angelica Allen-McMillan.

Englishtown (R)

Englishtown Councilman Daniel Francisco has won the Republican primary for mayor in the tiny Monmouth County borough of Englishtown, crushing longtime incumbent Mayor Thomas Reynolds 75%-25%. Unusually, both Francisco and Reynolds shared the Monmouth County GOP line.

Last year, Francisco ran on Mike Crispi’s off-the-line slate for Monmouth County Commissioner, getting 17% of the vote in a four-way race; before that, he was one of the many right-wing challengers to Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) in the 4th congressional district. Francisco also considered a run for the legislature last year to succeed the late Assemblyman Ron Dancer (R-Plumsted), but decided against it.

Far Hills (R)

Charles Schwester, an insurgent Far Hills Borough Council candidate who had to go to court to get himself on the ballot after filing with just six signatures, has won the Republican primary against incumbent Councilwoman Sheila Tweedie, 32%-21%. A second incumbent, Joseph Carty, finished in first place with 46% of the vote.

Franklin Township (Gloucester County) (R)

With a top-of-the-ticket battle raging over county and legislative offices, Gloucester County’s Franklin Township hosted a local version of the same fight between the county organization and the “Regular Republican Party” slate. Ultimately, the county party came out on top in the race for two township committee seats: Mark Fiorella has 31% of the vote and Councilman Timothy Doyle has 30%, defeating challengers Diane Vassallo Trace and William Petravich.

Harrison Township (Gloucester County) (D, R)

The opposite was true in Harrison Township, where Regular Republican Party township committee candidate Kevin French defeated party-line candidate Brian Bartholomew. Democrats also hosted a contested primary, which was won by party-backed Neil Corrado over Michael Koestler; the seat is currently held by an independent committeewoman, Julie DeLaurentis.

Hopatcong (R)

An entire Republican incumbent slate was wiped away in Sussex County’s Hopatcong. Mayor Michael Francis lost to former Councilwoman Marie Galante 55%-44%, while Galante’s running mates, Jennifer Johnson and Rachel Rodriguez, beat two incumbent councilmen.

Lindenwold (D)

In what was essentially an open Democratic primary for the mayor’s office and two council seats in Lindenwold, incumbent Mayor Richard Roach and his slate narrowly turned back a challenge led by Councilman Walter Lenkowski. Neither slate had the party line, with both appearing in separate columns from other Camden County Democrats.

Marlboro (R)

A dispute between the Monmouth County Republican Party and local Republican officeholders in Marlboro has resulted in a victory for the former, with party-line mayoral candidate Feiby Dawod defeating challenger John Gibardi 54%-37%; Dawod’s two council running mates also won.

Gibardi was aligned with three incumbent councilmembers – Juned Qazi, Antoinette Dinuzzo, and Michael Milman – who flipped the council majority in 2021. Marlboro Republicans will now have to unify in advance of November, when they’ll try to beat Democratic Mayor Jonathan Hornik and flip the town’s two remaining council seats.

Merchantville (D)

The anti-organization South Jersey Progressive Democrats have retained control of the Democratic county committee in Merchantville, a small town bordering Camden.

Off-the-line Democrats first flipped the Merchantville municipal committee in 2021, winning three of its four county committee seats; this year, they won all four. The result is a bright spot for opponents of the South Jersey Democratic organization, which controls virtually every other part of Camden County.

Morristown (D)

Two party-backed candidates for Morristown Town Council, including one incumbent councilwoman, both appear to have lost their Democratic primaries. In Ward 3, Steve Pylypchuk leads Robert Bell by 13 votes, 53%-47%; in Ward 4, Councilwoman Sandi Mayer trails challenger Christopher Russo by 20 votes, 53%-46%.

Parsippany-Troy Hills (R)

Three party-backed candidates in Morris County’s largest municipality won the Republcian nomination; Councilman Paul Carifi, Adam Kandil, and Matt McGrath all have a big lead against their two challengers, Gary Martin and Dharmesh Desai.

Penns Grove (D)

A write-in attempt by incumbent Penns Grove Mayor LaDaena Thomas has fallen short, with a comeback campaign by former Mayor John Washington – whom Thomas beat as an independent in the November 2019 general election – getting 54% of the primary vote. Write-ins got 40% of the vote, with the vast majority of those presumably going to Thomas.

But Thomas’ allies in the race for two borough council seats, Councilman Jonathan Carter and Qawaun White, are in the lead against Councilwoman Deborah Scott and Carol Mincey.

Phillipsburg (R)

After being dumped from the GOP line, Phillipsburg Councilman Harry Wyant has lost renomination, getting 23% of the vote against party-backed challengers Matthew Scerbo and Meliss Paulus.

Plainfield (D)

Two party-backed candidates for Plainfield City Council lead in their races, though one is very close. Julienne Cherry won a Ward 1 and 4 at-large seat (Plainfield has some hybrid seats that are two wards combined) 60%-39%, while Darcella Sessomes leads Councilman Sean McKenna by just 18 votes, 50.6%-48.9%, in Ward 2.

Point Pleasant Beach (R)

Point Pleasant Beach Councilwoman Arlene Testa, an ally of current Mayor and Assembly candidate Paul Kanitra, has lost the Republican mayoral primary to succeed him despite having the Ocean GOP line. Council President Douglas Vitale leads with 44% of the vote, followed by Testa with 28% and former Mayor Stephen Reid with 27%.

The race for two council seats, meanwhile, is much closer. Testa’s two running mates, Arthur Gant and Councilwoman Caryn Byrnes, are narrowly in the lead; Byrnes has just an 11-vote edge over challenger David Betten.

Pompton Lakes (R)

The Republican mayoral primary in Pompton Lakes is extremely close, with incumbent Mayor Michael Serra, who lost the party line for re-election, leading Council President Jennifer Polidori by just 11 votes, 50.6% to 49.4%.

The race for two council seats is also tight. Polidori-backed incumbent Maria Kent is in first place with 36% of the vote, followed by Serra-aligned incumbent Ekamon Venin with 34%; a second Polidori running mate, Lisa Kihlberg, is in last with 31%.

Rockaway Township (R)

Incumbent Mayor Joe Jackson has overcome a second Republican primary challenge from former Councilman Tucker Kelley, whom he previously beat in a 2022 special election. Jackson leads Kelley 57%-43%, a slightly smaller margin than his 60%-38% win last year.

Tenafly (D)

Tenafly Councilwoman Lauren Dayton appears to have lost renomination after being denied party support for another term; she has 29% of the vote to Beatriz Pelaez-Martinez’s 37% and Councilman Jeffrey Grossman’s 34%.

Dayton ran for the Assembly in 2021 on an off-the-line slate led by Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), who refused to abide by the Bergen Democrats’ endorsement of then-Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) for the State Senate. Huttle and Dayton both lost in a landslide, and the race seemingly left Dayton on the outs with local Democrats in Tenafly.

Warren Township (Somerset County) (R)

Two incumbent Republicans on the Warren Township Committee appear to have lost renomination, with Committeemen George Lazo and Daniel Croson trailing challengers Shaun Fine and Vanessa Kian. Kian and Lazo are currently separated by just 24 votes, 25.3%-24.7%.