Democrat Buonsante wins Mullica committee seat

Democrat Beth Schroeder Buonsante won a seat on the Mullica Township Committee, defeating Republican Thomas C. Braun and narrowing the Republicans’ control of the governing body.

Buonsante received 1,209 votes; Braun received 1,043.

Buonsante is a former chief of staff to the late state Sen. Jim Whelan, a Democrat from Atlantic City.

The result trims the Republicans’ 4-1 majority on the committee to 3-2. Last year, Democrat Mark Pino won a seat on the committee in an upset.

Mullica is a deeply Republican Pinelands community. Donald Trump carried the township by more than 30 percentage points in 2024, while Jack Ciattarelli won it by more than 22 points in 2025.