Former Gloucester County Sheriff Jonathan Sammons will run for Republican county chairman in a bid to unseat first-term incumbent Adam Wingate in a county where Republicans have been bitterly divided over the last few years.
Wingate, the mayor of Harrison Township, ousted six-year incumbent Jacci Vigilante in 2024, 121-91.
“Over the last two years, our party has lost ground, lost momentum, and lost the trust of many Republicans across Gloucester County. Leadership has failed us at every turn — and the results speak for themselves,” said Sammons. “This is about restoring confidence in our organization and putting Gloucester County Republicans back on the path to success.”
Gloucester County Republicans appeared to be surging after an unexpected wave election in 2021. Jack Ciattarelli won the county by 10 percentage points over Gov. Phil Murphy; Ed Durr (R-Logan) unseated Senate President Steve Sweeney; and the GOP flipped two Assembly seats. On top of that, Sammons ousted a veteran Democratic sheriff, and two Republicans won county commissioner seats.
It didn’t take long for Republicans to find themselves in a civil war.
An internal dispute over the selection of Senate and Assembly candidates in the 4th district in 2023 – and a primary challenge to Durr by freshman Assemblywoman Beth Sawyer (R-Woolwich) in the 3rd district – split the party. Democrats beat Durr in the general election and regained their two Assembly seats; Sammons lost re-election in 2024, and the two GOP commissioners held on. Last year, Sammons lost a bid for county commissioner.
Sammons is running with Barb Capelli for vice chair, Erik Anderson for treasurer, and Kristen Dutch for secretary.
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