The New Jersey Globe projects that Republicans have held onto their countyiwde offices in seven staunchly Republican counties: Cape May, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Sussex, and Warren.
Cape May
Republicans in one of New Jersey’s reddest counties swept races tonight for sheriff, surrogate, and county commissioner.
In the race for surrogate, E. Marie Hayes defeated Democrat Beverly McCall by a 67%-33% margin as of 11:40 p.m.
Hayes became surrogate earlier this year after incumbent Dean Marcolongo resigned to become a Superior Court Judge just over a month after he had won a five-year term in 2022. Hayes gave up her county commissioner seat to replace Marcolongo when Gov. Phil Murphy nominated her to serve as interim surrogate.
Republican Sheriff Robert Nolan ran unopposed for another three-year term.
Republicans Commissioner Will Morey and newcomer Melanie Collette defeated their one Democratic challenger, Patricia O’Connor, for two seats on the board of commissioners. Appointed Commissioner Robert Barr, meanwhile, won an election for Hayes’ unexpired term unopposed. With her win, Collette instantly becomes one of the New Jersey GOP’s most prominent Black elected officials.
Hunterdon
Hunterdon County remains all-Republican after solid wins in race for county commissioner and surrogate.
Shaun Van Doren won re-election to a third term on the county commissioner seat against Democrat Daniel Connor; Van Doren currently leads 57%-43%. He was first elected to the board in 2018, and also serves as treasurer of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.
In the surrogate race, Republican Heidi Rohrbach leads Democrat Wendy Beyer by a 55-45% margin. She replaces Republican Susan Hoffman, who decided to not seek re-election.
Rohrbach is married to former Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton Township); this is her first bid for pubic office.
Monmouth
In the race for two seats on the Monmouth County Board of Commissioners, Republican Commissioner Ross Licitra and Shrewsbury Mayor Erik Anderson defeated Democrats Arthur Schlossbach and Alison De Noia 28%-28%-22%-21%.
Licitra is seeking his second term; Anderson is running for a seat left open after 88-year-old Commissioner Lillian Burry decided to retire.
Ocean
The state’s most potent GOP county organization easily held their 5-0 majority on the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, with Republican Frank Sadeghi winning a rare open seat.
The seat opened up after incumbent Republican Joseph Vicari decided to retire after more than 43 years in public service; Vicari was the longest-serving county elected official in the state. Sadeghi leads Democrat Roxanne Barnes 70%-30%, giving GOP County Chairman George Gilmore a firm ally on the board.
Sadeghi ran for the GOP county chairman post in 2019, but lost narrowly. Barnes previously ran for commissioner but lost in 2022.
In the race for surrogate, Republican incumbent Jeffrey Moran defeated Democrat Charles Dauer, leading with 72% of the vote. A former assemblyman, Moran has served as Surrogate since 2003, when then Gov. James McGreevey appointed him to the post after Franklin Fischer died.
Salem
Incumbent Republican Edward Ramsay defeated Democrat Nelson Carney Jr. for a county commissioner seat in Salem County. Ramsey leads Carney 59%-40%; this will be Ramsay’s second term as a commissioner.
Carney previously ran for commissioner in both 2021 and 2022, losing both races.
Salem was politically competitive just a few years ago, but it has become solidly red in recent years. Republicans won control in 2017, but then lost it again before reorganization day when then-Senate President Steve Sweeney flipped one of the GOP freeholders. Republicans won a majority in 2018 – the party switcher was ousted – and county government is now all-Republican.
Sussex
Sussex County stays bright red, with Republican Surrogate Gary Chiusano winning re-election and 24-year-old farmer/graduate student Jack DeGroot leading Democrat Damaris Lira 69%-31% for a county commissioner seat.
DeGroot defeated incumbent Commissioner Herb Yardley by a dominant margin in the June GOP primary; Sussex County does not have county lines, so both candidates competed on an even playing field.
Lira previously lost a race for commissioner in 2022. In fact, Democrats have not won a countywide seat since 1999, when Howard Burrell won a freeholder seat.
Chiusano has served as surrogate since 2013; he previously served in the Assembly for five years.
Warren
Republican incumbent Lori Ciesla won her second term as a Warren County Commissioner, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Gittins in a landslide. Ciesla currently has 65% of the vote.
This will be Ciesla’s second term; she was elected after Richard Gardner chose not to seek a seventh term in 2020. Previously, Ciesla served as Lopatcong council president.
Gittins serves as the Warren County Democratic Committee’s treasurer.
See all 2023 election results HERE.
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