Somerset County Republican Chairman Tim Howes confirmed today that he would seek re-election to a third term despite an announcement by the vice chair, Tracy DiFrancesco, that she was running for county chair.
“I am proud of this organization’s accomplishments over the past four years. We have partnered with the local organizations to post a net gain of twelve seats at the local level from 2021 through 2023,” Howes said. “As a result, more than seventy percent of the county is governed by Republican municipal government.”
Howes said he’s brought the Somerset GOP “into the digital age, utilizing more avenues of reaching voters than ever before.”
“Outreach to the long-neglected affinity groups that swing our county’s elections has blossomed in the past four years,” he said. “We have assembled an election law ‘dream team’ to ensure fair and honest elections.”
The two-term Republican leader says his organization played a key role in electing Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) to Congress in 2022 and re-elected GOP legislators in the 21st and 23rd districts.
That happened, Howes said, despite a voter registration deficit.
Howes also slammed DiFrancesco’s job performance as the vice chair.
“Many Republicans are asking this question: What did my opponent do in two years as Vice Chair to earn the promotion to County Chair?” he asked.
Howes said DiFrancesco “had little to do with the operations of this organization.”
“Having had high hopes when I asked her to serve, I was disappointed when she chose not to be involved in the county campaign during her first general election on the executive committee,” stated Howes. “She then offered to start helping with fundraising, but that initial offer of assistance turned out to be merely a ruse to obtain the municipal chairs list to start campaigning for county chair a year and a half prior to the election.”
According to Howes, “Republican candidates on the ballot found this transparent power play an unfortunate distraction from their campaigns.”