Morris County Democratic Chair Amalia Duarte will not seek re-election and is expected to be replaced by Darcy Draeger, a highly-regarded sheep farmer from Chester who ran two hugely competitive campaigns for a State Assembly seat in a Republican legislative district.
Vice Chairman Mike DeLamater, a top political advisor to Gov. Phil Murphy and Sherrill, will seek re-election on the Draeger ticket.
The change in leadership comes days after Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), who represents 28 of 39 municipalities in Morris County in Congress, captured the Democratic nomination for governor.
Democrats believe Sherrill can make a play for votes in Morris County, where Republican Jack Ciattarelli won by eleven points in 2021 against Gov. Phil Murphy.
Sherrill scored a massive 62% victory in Morris, outpacing the second-place finisher, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, by fifty percentage points. Last year, Sherrill carried the Morris portion of her congressional district by four points.
After Joe Biden won Morris County with 51% in 2020, and after making substantial gains in local races, Democrats began to see an opportunity to make the county politically competitive.
Duarte told the New Jersey Globe that her decision to move to a different executive board role was hers.
“I’ve put in three years. That’s like dog years,” she said. “I’m thrilled to pass the baton and take on a new role.”
Still, Duarte’s re-election was not guaranteed. She had faced criticism for not making gains in a county where the political environment and demographics were improving for Republicans. She angered some party leaders for not recruiting Assembly candidates in the 25th district – the two nominees came from Fulop’s slate – and for a mishap two years ago when she had supported a candidate for the 24th district Assembly seat who had run as an independent against U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
Duarte insisted that the decision was hers.
“I’m going to be working on grassroots and expanding our reach, tapping into the energy of where the Democratic Party is right now because people are so angry with the Trump administration,” Duarte said. “It’s a big table and there’s work to be done.”
Draeger, a popular and tough party leader – she served as Chester Democratic Municipal Chair and ran for the Assembly in 2019 and a 2020 special election – is expected to have the support of Sherrill and most municipal chairs. She has strong relationships with party leaders, especially Sherrill, and played a key role in flipping New Jersey’s 7th district congressional seat to Democrat Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) in 2018.
“Amalia Duarte has been a transformative leader—not only as Chair of the Morris County Democratic Committee but also as the first Democrat and first Latina elected in Mendham Township,” said Draeger. “Her trailblazing spirit and tireless dedication have expanded our reach in traditionally red areas and energized Democrats across the county. I am so grateful for her service and look forward to building on her legacy.”
As Morris Democrats focus on delivering votes for Sherrill, they also face challenges at the county level, where Republicans have not lost a race since 1973. The last Democratic legislator from Morris County was elected in 1993.
Duarte, a Mendham Township committeewoman and former Bergen Record reporter, became county chair in 2022 after a coalition of local and state party leaders forced then-Chairman Chip Robinson to resign.
Draeger ran for an executive board post, secretary, on Duarte’s ticket. Along with DeLamater, Parsippany Democratic Municipal Chairman Matt Clarkin, Randolph Democratic Municipal Chair Meghan Lynch, Mountain Lakes Democratic Municipal Chair Margaret Capodanno will seek executive board positions.