N.J. primary election: Senate matchup is set between Andy Kim and Curtis Bashaw; Herb Conaway and Rajesh Mohan win primaries in 3rd District

It was not your garden variety primary in the Garden State on Tuesday.

It involved presidential nominees effectively already chosen; a U.S. Senate campaign in which the indicted incumbent, on trial in New York, has declared he will run as an independent; and in a heavily Democratic state, Republicans may have rivaled the ranks of Democrats among those showing up at the polls.

At 10:52, Bashaw finally took the podium and accepted his victory. "Before I entered this race, they told me it couldn't be done," he said. "I believe in New Jersey, I believe in its people, and I believe in its freedoms. And that is why I believe it is time for change.

"I believe it's time for a political outsider who can deliver results. We can't keep sending the same entrenched DC politicians like Andy Kim and Bob Menendez.

Thousands of New Jersey Democrats voiced their frustration Tuesday with President Joe Biden by voting “uncommitted” on their presidential primary ballot.

As of 10:45 p.m. with about 72% of the vote counted, 35,300 voters registered a protest vote against Biden. The Uncommitted New Jersey group organizing the campaign to show frustration with Biden’s support for Israel had set a goal of 50,000 votes.

Rajesh Mohan, 60, won the Republican primary in South Jersey’s 3rd congressional district, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat.

Mohan, a cardiologist in Holmdel in Monmouth County, won an open four-way Republican primary with a decisive lead. He defeated immigration consultant Shirley Maia-Cusick, as well as financial advisor Gregory Sobocinski and financial advisor Michael Francis Faccone. He will face Democratic challenger Herb Conaway, the state Assembly’s deputy speaker, in the general election in November.

Attorney Theodore "Teddy" Liddell secured the GOP nomination in the 1st Congressional District Tuesday, setting him up for a race against incumbent Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross in November.

Liddell, a Chicago native and West Point graduate, beat out fellow Republican candidates Claire Gustafson and Damon Galdo to win the nomination.

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, 61, has won the Democratic primary in South Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim.

Conaway, of Delran Township in Burlington County, said he will be the first Black physician to serve in Congress, and the first Black person to represent South Jersey in Congress.

U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. is one step closer to a second term after successfully fending off two Democratic challengers Tuesday.

Menendez defeated Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and businessman Kyle Jasey to secure the Democratic nomination. He will face Republican Anthony Valdes, who ran for the GOP's nomination unopposed, in November.

Cape May County hotelier and developer Curtis Bashaw, 62, won the Republican primary Tuesday for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

Bashaw, 64, campaigned by criticizing Democrats over inflation and border security, and, notably, held out on endorsing former President Donald Trump until several months into his campaign.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who died April 24, has won the Democratic primary for his Newark, N.J., congressional seat.

Payne, 65, had filed paperwork to run for reelection this year and was uncontested. His death came after the deadline had passed for candidates to file for his now-vacant seat.

Up in the Presidential Suite on the second floor, Bashaw awaited results with his husband, Will Riccio, 42, his sister, Lynette Hull, 62, and other supporters. 

He said he felt confident that the campaign had done the work, traveling the state and listening to voters concerned about issues both nationally (immigration) and locally (wind energy and parental rights.).

Though he voted for Biden in 2020 Mohammad Mian, a 69-year-old Democrat from Cherry Hill, said he is considering voting for Trump in November.

Mian, who is Muslim and from Pakistan, said he didn’t like Biden because of the administrations support of Israel in its war in Gaza and allegations the administration was involved in a regime change in Pakistan.

U.S. Congressman Andy Kim won New Jersey’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, easily securing a nomination that puts him on a pathway to make history in the U.S. Senate.

“It is a really humbling experience to see my name on the ballot to be the next U.S. Senator from New Jersey,” Kim said Tuesday after casting his vote. “It’s something I never imagined as a public school kid, a son of immigrants, but I’m ready to step up for my state.”

Former President Donald Trump officially secured the Republican presidential primary in New Jersey, days after having been convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records by a Manhattan jury.

Following his Thursday conviction, Trump baselessly called the trial "rigged," and falsely claimed that the verdict was secured "in total conjunction with the White House." In a news conference at Trump Tower Friday, he targeted President Joe "Biden and his people" as the organizers of the case against him.

President Joe Biden officially won New Jersey's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday as his campaign prepares for a November rematch against former President Donald Trump.

Biden's victory came days after a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Following Trump's conviction, Biden's campaign said in a brief statement that the former president remained a threat to democracy, and that there was "only one way to keep Donald Trump put of the Oval Office: the ballot box."

The polls are now closed in New Jersey for the state's primary election.

Follow here for updates on results for the party nominees for president, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House.

At a table at the Bashaw event, Avalon councilwoman Barbara Juzaitis, 72, and James Hatch, 72, the pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Cape May Court House, had become fast friends.

Juzaitis said she was all in for Bashaw. "I'm part of the Republican club," she said. "I think Curtis is going to be excellent."

John Galie said the last Republican he was truly happy to vote for was Ronald Reagan.

“Everyone since has been a disaster but they’re better than the chaos and the bitter disaster it’s gonna be on the other side,” he said.

As we report the live results, you might notice that the percentage of votes we display are a little different than other newsrooms. This is because we show the percentage of expected turnout rather than the percentage of votes counted so far.

Expected turnout is an estimate based previous elections’ turnout and the number of votes counted so far. We use this number because it accurately represents where we are in the vote-counting process for a race. Estimates are provided directly by the Associated Press.

As befitting a hotelier, Curtis Bashaw, the GOP candidate from Cape May, was holding his primary night party in a hotel ballroom. The hotel was Congress Hall, naturally, the elegant yellow painted brick hotel that dates to 1816 that is Bashaw’s signature property in this Victorian Jersey Shore resort.

Outside, yellow Congress Hall golf carts ferried people around the property. Guests sipped Manhattans and grazed at charcuterie boards and shrimp cocktails under bright white umbrellas on the patio outside the Blue Pig Tavern.

A Burlington County spokesperson acknowledged that voting was slower for some people today as a result of new voting machines and attributed the slowdown to a lack of familiarity with the equipment.

The new machines replaced equipment that had been in use for 25 years, said county spokesperson David Levinsky.

While many Democrats have expressed concern about Biden seeking a second term David Bannett, 62, and his daughter Adena, 23, who voted at Cherry Hill East High School on Tuesday were optimistic in their support of the President.

“I really do think he’s doing as well as anybody could do, I think he’s restored faith in the U.S. and around the world,” David Bannett

Sara Kriesman considers former President Donald Trump the “devil incarnate.”

The 46-year-old Cherry Hill Democrat considers women’s rights to be her top voting issue and is concerned that after the fall of Roe v Wade her daughters now live in a world where they have less rights than she did.

Yes, but you have to declare you are voting for one party.

From the official New Jersey website for the Department of State Division of Elections:

The Upper Township Community Center in Cape May County saw a steady stream of voters, unusual for a low-turnout primary day. Voters said some contested committee person races may have brought people out.

Cheryle Eisele, 78, a retired college professor, said she voted for Biden. "I would not vote for a convicted felon," she said of Trump.

Steve Osder, an 81-year-old Cherry Hill Republican, said he would “absolutely” support U.S. Sen Bob Menendez in his independent campaign.

Osder said the embattled Senator was strong on Israel, referencing the Yamaka he wore to the polling place as he explained the issue was very important to him.

Elected officials have egos as big as parking spaces, Richard Cordry said, stretching his arms wide out in the parking lot of the Mt. Laurel Community Center. 

Cordry, 79, said he was referring to embattled Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, who’s vowed to run as Independent this November despite being on trial for corruption charges. 

Jason Frazier, 46, of Cherry Hill, was one of handful of voters at the Carmen Tilelli Community Center on Tuesday.

He voted in the Democratic Primary for President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep Andy Kim for Senate.

In Haddonfield, an affluent South Jersey suburb, two young voters said they were "uncommitted" to the Joe Biden campaign and voted as such, despite their Democratic party affiliation.

Their ballot responses could signal that the uncommitted campaign, launched by progressive activists to protest against the Biden administration's policies supporting Israel's war in Gaza, could be gaining traction in New Jersey.

As voters head to the polls in New Jersey, Republican Senate candidate Christine Serrano Glassner is touting a few Republican endorsements.

Chief among them is the backing of former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Serrano Glassner during his rally in Wildwood last month, noting former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie backed her opponent, Curtis Bashaw.

A steady stream of voters arrived at the Lumberton Township municipal building before lunch, and some left a little later than expected on account of Burlington County's new polling machines.

“The machines are definitely different but I suppose it’s more secure and I support that,” said resident George McClellan, 78.

Inell Sutton made a pained expression outside the Nesbit Community Center in Pemberton Township, Burlington County when asked if he voted for President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump in Tuesday’s primary.

“Aw man, I wish we had better choices,” Sutton, a 48-year-old case worker said.

Public opinion polling shows that many voters care about two issues this election season: the economy and immigration.

For Don Hamlin, a 78-year-old Moorestown resident and registered Republican, the former was of utmost importance at the polls this morning.

Progressive activists across the country have encouraged voters to vote “uncommitted” as a show of frustration with Joe Biden's administration and in support of a cease-fire in Gaza.

How can New Jersey residents vote “uncommitted”?

Congressman Andy Kim, joined by his wife and two sons, voted at his home polling place in Moorestown, N.J. Tuesday morning.

Kim, a Democrat who represents the 3rd District, arrived at the First United Methodist Church driving an SUV, waved to reporters, and walked inside alongside his family.

Over 348,000 New Jersey voters have already cast their ballots in today’s primary elections, according to data shared by Associated Press election researcher Ryan Dubicki.

Nearly 75% of the early votes cast — 261,142 votes — were by Democrats, while just a quarter of votes — 86,879 — were by Republicans.

Turnout was slow Tuesday morning in the tiny log cabin community of Medford Lakes, Burlington County, but Christopher Verone, 75, showed up to vote at the Vaughn Community House wearing a shirt with “true patriot” printed across the chest.

Verone cast his vote for former President Donald Trump and believes fellow New Jerseyans should do the same.

Two voters showed up a little after 6 a.m. Tuesday at the Presbyterian church in Woodstown, Salem County, to vote.  

Late for work at the construction company he owns, Keith Humphrey, 55, of Woodstown, was talking fast and straight after voting Tuesday morning.

Polls are open in New Jersey for the state's primary election.

Voters will choose party nominees for president, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House.

Five New Jersey Democrats and four Republicans are running in primaries to replace U.S. Rep. Andy Kim in the U.S. House.

On the Democratic side, two New Jersey General Assembly members could have an advantage over a handful of political outsiders in the open seat race. In the Republican race, one candidate leads in fundraising while another has support from the GOP establishment.

When New Jersey Republicans head to the polls for Tuesday’s primary election, they won’t just be choosing their nominee for United States Senate — they’ll be testing whether former President Donald Trump has more power than the traditional control of the state party establishment.

The GOP’s top contenders are Curtis Bashaw, a Cape May County hotelier and developer who is backed by a majority of his party’s establishment, and Christine Serrano Glassner, a mayor from the state’s northeast corner who has the endorsement of the former president as well as a personal connection to him and is vying for his MAGA base.

Sen. Bob Menendez is still fighting.

The embattled New Jersey senator filed paperwork Monday to run a long-shot campaign as an independent in the November Senate race.