New Jersey primary results: Incumbents coast, November matchups set
In South Jersey, three strong incumbents were finding out who they will face in the November election.
Incumbents in South Jersey’s three congressional districts easily defeated their primary opponents Tuesday, and the November general election matchups were decided in a sleepy New Jersey primary.
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross won the Democratic nomination in the First District in Camden and Gloucester Counties over teacher Mario DiSantis, according to the Associated Press. He will face a rematch with Clare Gustafson, whom he defeated in 2020. Gustafson won the Republican nomination for the First District over Damon Galdo.
In the Third District in Burlington, Monmouth, and Mercer Counties, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim won the Democratic nomination, amassing about 93% of the early returns, the Associated Press said Tuesday night in declaring him the winner.
Kim will face Republican Bob Healey, a 38-year-old executive at Viking Yachts and former punk-rock singer, who won his party’s nomination over Ian Smith, the Bellmawr Atilis Gym owner who famously defied pandemic lockdowns.
And U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican who first ran as a Democrat in 2018 before switching parties and pledging his loyalty to then-President Donald Trump, won the GOP nomination in the Second District in deep South Jersey, according to the Associated Press.
He had 85% of the vote against two challengers, Sean Pignatelli and John Barker, as of late Tuesday night.
On the Democratic side, Tim Alexander, 56, a former prosecutor in Philadelphia and investigator with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, won the nomination over Carolyn Rush, 60, a Lockheed Martin systems engineer who had moved to her summer home in Sea Isle City.
Alexander called the victory historic, noting that he was the first Black man to serve as a major-party nominee in the Second District.
“We still have a long road ahead of us to get rid of Jeff Van Drew and bring real representation to South Jersey,” he said in a statement. “South Jerseyans are fed up with the inaction and want a congressman who does more than show up for ribbon cuttings and give TV interviews.”
Van Drew received Trump’s endorsement in December at Mar-a-Lago and touted himself in a statement Tuesday night as “the ONLY Trump Endorsed Conservative on the ballot today in New Jersey.” His redrawn district further shores up Van Drew’s base in parts of Atlantic, Cumberland, Salem, and Cape May Counties.
The primaries were contested in newly drawn districts that observers believe will bolster the incumbents in November.
Kim, 39, was in Washington on primary night, according to a spokesperson. In an interview before Tuesday, he said he looked forward to campaigning in the new areas, which no longer include the heavily Republican Ocean County.
“I’m glad my hometown Burlington County is still with me, but as I’ve been going around Mercer and Monmouth, I’ve been glad to get to know people there,” Kim said. “In Monmouth County, it’s been a strong response. A lot of people know who I am.”
Kim said in a statement Tuesday night that these are tough times for the country, saying, “I believe these challenges call on all of us to earnestly work together to build unity.”
On the Republican side, the long-bearded Smith, 35, of Delanco, who came to prominence in 2020 as a vaccine-mandate opponent and defier of lockdowns at the Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, came up short against Healey. His supporters gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mount Laurel.
Healey, of Moorestown, is a yacht manufacturer who fronted the Philly horror/punk-rock band the Ghouls back in the day but says he’s left the anger of his youth behind to embrace public service and yoga. Healey had the backing of county Republican chairs and describes himself on his website as a “South Jersey parent running for Congress ... against a radical Democrat.”
In a Facebook message early Wednesday, Healey thanked his supporters.
“I am proud to win the Republican primary in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District,” he wrote. “Thank you to every person who supported this campaign and got out the vote. Onward to November.”
Smith’s campaign had sought to capitalize on his pandemic notoriety, declaring: “Ian Smith fought tyranny in Bellmawr. He’ll do the same in Washington, D.C.”
His candidacy had attracted the attention of ultra-conservatives and right-wing outlets like Newsmax. “ULTRA MAGA movement praying for all the patriots tonight!!!” one supporter wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday.
Norcross, 63, a union electrician, is a brother of Democratic power broker George Norcross and a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
In a statement sent by his campaign Tuesday night, Norcross said: “We will continue our fight for good jobs, affordable healthcare and higher educational opportunities, to cut the gas tax and hold oil companies accountable, and keep our nation and neighborhoods safe.”
He will face Gustafson in the general election.