Democrats pick Gallo and Burke in Cranford

Democratic incumbent Paul Gallo and his running mate, Susan Burke, have won the Democratic nomination for township committee in Cranford, beating back a challenge from Will Thilly, a gadfly who has gone viral on social media last year for breakdancing during a township committee meeting. Burke  leads with 1,863 votes, followed by Gallo with 1,685 votes, followed by Thilly with 586 votes  

Committeeman and former mayor Brian Andrews is not seeking re-election.

Challenging them will be two Republicans: Sam Prince, a marketing and technology operations leader; and Dennis Miller, a self-employed real estate internet marketer.  

Cranford, like many other Union County train-station towns, was once reliably Republican and has since become reliably Democratic at the federal and state levels. Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried Cranford by over 15 points last year.​

At the local level, Cranford voters know how to split their tickets and things can still prove to be competitive. In 2024,  Gina Black was narrowly re-elected on the same ballot that opted for Kamala Harris by 20 points.

In 2023, Republicans nearly unseated Gallo when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term; Gallo held on by only 12 votes.