The ballots may be set, but the outcome appears all but certain in Millstone, where Democratic Mayor Raymond Heck and two Republican council incumbents are running unopposed for re-election this fall.
Heck appears headed for another term, while Republican Council President Dodd Weisenberger and Councilman Brian Ashnault are also poised to win new terms without opposition.
Such arrangements are not uncommon in New Jersey’s smaller municipalities, where local politics often revolve more around personal relationships and governing consensus than partisan competition. In nearby Milford, for example, both parties are positioned to win one of the two council seats up for election because neither fielded a candidate against the other’s nominee.
Heck briefly entered the race for Congress earlier this year to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), but withdrew before the Democratic primary and endorsed Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Robinson, who went on to narrowly carry the borough.
Now in his nineteenth year as mayor, Heck has built a profile that extends well beyond the borough’s borders despite its small size. He has served as president of both the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, and has also held positions on the New Jersey Fire Safety Commission and the New Jersey Police Training Commission. A longtime labor leader and public safety official, Heck remains one of Somerset County’s most prominent local elected officials despite leading one of its smallest municipalities.
With a population of just 448 residents, Millstone, a tiny Somerset County enclave surrounded by Hillsborough Township, has developed a distinctive voting record. It is one of only three New Jersey municipalities that voted for Donald Trump in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Last year, the borough gave Gov. Mikie Sherrill an eight-point victory.
While Millstone has become more receptive to Democrats at the top of the ticket, local politics continues to be driven less by party labels than by familiar incumbents and long-established community relationships.