Sussex County Republican Chairman Joseph LaBarbera was re-elected to a second term tonight, beating back a challenge from former County Commissioner Earl Schick with 70% of the vote, 63-27.
Billy Marotta, the Republican State Committeeman, is the new vice chair. He replaces Barbara Holstein, who switched sides and ran with Schick.
Sussex Republicans also re-elected Marotta and County Commissioner Jill Space to their seats on the Republican State Committee.
The GOP nominee for governor, Jack Ciattarelli, won Sussex by a 75%-14% margin in the June 10 primary election. LaBarbera had endorsed Ciattarelli.
LaBarbera, a retired U.S. Army major, was elected in 2023 by seven votes against Candice Smith after Jerry Scanlan retired after eight undefeated years as county chairman.
Sussex is largely a one-party county; Democrats have not elected a state legislator since 1973 and haven’t won a countywide election since 1999.
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