William E. Stubbs (1917-2003), the Georgia-born son of a sharecropper, was the first African American to win a major party nomination for Congress in New Jersey. He won a three-way Republican primary in New Jersey’s 11th district in 1964 but lost the general election to freshman Rep. Joseph Minish by a 70%-30% margin.
Stubbs’ primary win was against another black candidate, Dr. Harold Scott. He won 63%-26%, with 11% going to Rocco Clarizo.
He lost a race for an at-large seat on the Newark City Council in 1966.
Stubbs was the longtime Newark Central Ward GOP chairman, and served as the deputy Essex County Register of Deeds and Mortgages and as deputy city tax collector in Newark.
When Republican Hymen Mintz declined to seek re-election as county register in 1974, the GOP picked Stubbs to run. Democrat Larrie West Stalks, the sister of Newark political legend Calvin West, easily defeated Stubbs in the general election.