Salem County Republican Chairman Linwood Donelson was re-elected Saturday morning without opposition.
His re-election follows a contested primary for county commissioner, in which the organization-backed incumbent, Ed Ramsay, defeated challenger Lew Merrylfield with 72% of the vote.
Donelson first became county chairman in late 2021 after Linda DuBois resigned. He is a partner at a Woodbury law firm, and is president of the Salem County Special Services and Vocational and Technical Schools Board of Education. He is a former member of the Lower Alloways Creek Board of Education.
He remains the youngest Republican county chairman and the second youngest county chair; the youngest is 26-year-old Zoe Heath, the Sussex County Democratic chair. Donelson is a year younger than Hunterdon County GOP Chairman Gabe Plumer.
Since 2018, when Democrats held a majority of seats on the Salem County Board of Commissioners, the county has flipped decidedly Republican. Donald Trump has carried Salem County three times – he won by 19 points in 2024 – and Jack Ciattarelli carried Salem in the 2025 governor’s race by 15 points, and in 2021 by 29 points.