Durr, Codey win primaries, while Dems' preferred GOP candidate in 4th District loses

Ed Durr, the Republican truck driver who won brief national fame after upsetting former Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney in 2021, easily beat back a challenge by his former running mate in the Republican primary Tuesday night.

And Democratic state Sen. Dick Codey, who served as governor for over a year following the resignation of Jim McGreevey, easily dispatched fellow Democratic state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Essex) after the two were drawn into the same district.

The results called by the Associated Press — two of a handful of contested New Jersey state legislative primaries — set the stage for the November general election, in which Democrats will defend the hold they’ve had on both houses of the state Legislature for 20 years.

In another competitive race, Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) beat back a challenge in the 26th District. But the closely-watched Assembly contest in the nearby 24th District was too close for the AP to call early Wednesday morning.

Republicans are optimistic that fatigue of Democratic control coupled with a new compromise state legislative district map their party had a hand in drawing will give them their best chance of flipping one or both chambers in years despite the state’s deep blue hue. Democrats currently hold a 25-15 majority in the Senate and a 46-34 advantage in the Assembly.

"Tonight’s primary signals the beginning of change for eager New Jerseyans ready for state Republicans to lead the charge and pass commonsense solutions,” read a statement from Dee Duncan, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee.

Eyes on South Jersey

Two of the most hotly-contested primary races took places in districts that are expected to be among the most competitive in November, in Districts 3 and 4 in South Jersey — a region that began a significant political shift to the right during the presidency of Donald Trump, who courted blue collar white voters that South Jersey Democrats often counted on.

In the 3rd District, Durr (R-Gloucester) secured the Republican nomination along with Assemblymember Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R-Gloucester), and her running mate, Tom Tedesco, a Hopewell Township Committeeman. They defeated Durr's former running mate, Assemblymember Beth Sawyer (R-Gloucester) and Joseph Collins Jr.

Despite the fact that Durr, Sawyer and McCarthy Patrick all upset well-entrenched incumbents two years ago, Durr and Sawyer were incompatible district-mates who did not hide their disdain for each other.

Sawyer accused Durr of grandstanding on social issues while getting little done for the district in Trenton, contrasting it with her own work on trying to upgrade rural Salem County’s 911 system. Durr, she said, would have a hard time being reelected now that Democrats were paying attention and would happily run ads of his social media posts before he was elected, including one in which he said “A woman does have a choice! Keep her legs closed.”

But Durr’s defeat of Sweeney made in him into a minor celebrity on the right, which, along with the backing of all three of the district’s Republican organizations, likely helped his slate defeat Sawyer’s.

Still, he will not walk to reelection. He’ll face former Democratic Assemblymember John Burzichelli, who in 2021 was defeated along with Sweeney. On Tuesday, Burzichelli — who will likely have a campaign well-funded by the South Jersey Democratic machine — easily won his own primary. The race between Durr and Burzichelli is expected to be one of the most closely-watched in November.

But Durr’s close ally, Gloucester County Commissioner Nick DeSilvio, did not fare as well in the 4th District Republican primary contest, which featured similar themes to the 3rd District contest.

DeSilvio, whose wife Tina works as Durr’s chief of staff, was defeated in the state Senate primary by former Washington Township Councilmember Christopher Del Borrello.

Twenty-year incumbent state Sen. Fred Madden (D-Gloucester) is retiring, and the district is considered a prime pick up opportunity for Republicans. Democrats are running Assemblymember Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester) for state Senate. Moriarty and his running mates, Dan Hutchison and Cody Miller, were unopposed in their party’s primary.

The action was on the Republican side, where some Republican leaders recruited Del Borrello because his past social media posts had been successfully exploited by Democrats who won all Gloucester County races in 2022 despite a Republican surge in that county the year before.

DeSilvio highlighted Del Borrello’s family’s check cashing business and controversies tied to it, including a separate company run by Del Borrello’s brother that rented out strippers to bachelor parties and a guilty plea by Del Borrello’s half brother to using the check cashing company to launder money.

Democrats took part in the Republican primary as well, sending out flyers bashing Del Borrello, suggesting that Democrats saw him as the tougher candidate to beat in November.

Del Borrello’s running mates, Amanda Esposito and Matthew Walker, also defeated DeSilvio’s running mates, Michael Clark and Denise Gonzalez.

A rare Senate primary in Essex

In North Jersey’s 27th District, Codey and Gill (both D-Essex), erstwhile allies, conducted a quiet campaign.

Codey, who’s suffering from health issues, won despite being largely absent from the campaign trail. While Gill campaigned as well, it was a low-profile contest despite being a rare match between two incumbent senators.

Assemblymember John McKeon (D-Essex) and newcomer Alixon Collazos, a public affairs specialist from Montclair and wife of Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, won the Assembly contest over Nia Gill running mate Eve Robinson. They also defeated former Assemblymember Craig Stanley, who ran a long-shot campaign not affiliated with either state senator.

Other races too close to call

In North Jersey, bitter GOP races played out in districts so Republican that winning the primary virtually assures a victory in the general election. But so far, those races are too close to call.

Longtime senator Pennacchio one of the most conservative state lawmakers, held a lead late Tuesday over County Commissioner Thomas Mastrangelo in the 26th District. The AP called the race for Pennacchio late Tuesday night. Assembly running mates Brian Bergen and Jay Webber also won.

The Senate race was nasty and personal. Mastrangelo, who last year defeated former Mendham Mayor Sarah Neibart in the Republican county commissioner primary even though Neibart had party support, bashed Pennacchio for backing Neibart’s campaign after she attended a drag queen story hour in 2021.

Pennacchio also dabbles in the culture wars, having called New Jersey’s sex ed standards “indoctrination” because they teach about gender identity. In the election’s closing days, Mastrangelo even went after Pennacchio for spending campaign funds to purchase meals at McDonalds.

Assemblymembers Jay Webber and Brian Bergen (both R-Morris) on Tuesday also held leads over challengers Betty Lou DeCroce, a former Assemblymember, and her running mate Robert Peluso.

The Republican Assembly primary in Northwestern New Jersey’s District 24 was too close to call. Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia and Chester Mayor Mike Inganamort are running against Warren County Commissioner Jason Sarnoski and Lafayette Board of Education President Josh Aikens. A fifth candidate, Robert Kovic, is running alone.

Fantasia and Inganamort held a lead early Wednesday with 83 percent of the vote counted, according to the AP. The running mates have the party line in Morris County, which has around a third of GOP primary voters, while Sarnoski and Aikens have the line in Warren County, which is only a sliver of the district.

At the top of the ticket, Assemblymember Parker Space (R-Sussex) ran uncontested in the primary to succeed Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho, who is retiring. Space sparked controversy in the past for posing with a confederate flag and sporting a tattoo of the flag on his arm, both of which Lonegan brought up in the campaign before dropping out.

The district is one of the most Republican in the state. The candidates all professed their opposition to abortion, which has been a touchy issue for Republicans in more competitive districts, and support for gun rights.

Daniel Han and Ry Rivard contributed to this report.