Michael Drulis, the New Brunswick city administrator and a veteran political insider, has been elected Hunterdon County Democratic Chairman. He defeated Khush Pall by a margin of 63%-37% to replace Tom Malinowski, who resigned earlier this month to seek a return to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Drulis is the current treasurer and the husband of Assemblywoman Mitchelle Drulis (D-Raritan). Pall is the Democratic state committeeman from Hunterdon County.
Michele Liebtag, the political director of CWA Local 1036, was elected vice chair. Her opponent, Dorothy Dawood, dropped out after Drulis was elected.
“Hunterdon’s blue tide is rising and our HCDC will continue to build momentum for the races ahead,” said Drulis and Liebtag. “Our focus now is on building consensus and driving our party forward during this critical time in our country. The road to the house majority runs through Hunterdon.”
Clinton Mayor Janice Kovach had been vice chair and interim county chair following Malinowski’s resignation. She declined to run in a special election today to fill Malinowski’s unexpired term and chose not to return to the vice chair post.
Drulis will serve until June, when the current term expires.
Malinowski represented New Jersey’s 7th district in Congress from 2019 to 2023. He is currently a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 11th district, where a special Democratic primary is set for February 5 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill.
This story was updted at 9:29 PM with comment from Drulis and Liebtag.
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