Primary Primer: Breaking Down the Races, from Local to National

New Jersey’s primary election is just days away, and while there aren’t a lot of contested races this year, here’s what to look for Tuesday, from the local level on up to the top office in the country. 

West Deptford Township Committee

Only one seat is open on the township committee this year, and we can fast-forward to November: Jeff Hansen, the Regular Organization Republican candidate and current chair of the RiverWinds advisory board, is unopposed, as is Democratic incumbent Denice DiCarlo. 

Gloucester County Sheriff

Incumbent Carmel Morina is running unopposed on the Democratic side of the ticket. For the Republicans, Phil Dieser III is the Regular Organization Republican candidate, and will face off with Chris Marrero, who’s running under To Protect and Serve. 

Gloucester County Clerk

Incumbent Democrat James Hogan and Republican challenger Jeffrey Morris are each unopposed in their respective races.

Gloucester County Surrogate

Republican Carolyn Chapman has an uncontested race, while incumbent Democrat Helene Reed, the Regular Democratic Organization candidate, will face former Assemblyman Anthony Marsella.

Gloucester County Freeholder

Democrats Robert Damminger and Joe Chila, the current freeholder director and deputy director, respectively, are unopposed, as are Republican challengers Margie Love and Tom Thistle.

House of Representatives

Republican Gregory Horton is unopposed on his side of the ballot, while incumbent Rob Andrews faces a challenge from Francis Tenaglio in the Democratic race.

United States Senate

Democratic incumbent Robert Menendez, who launched his campaign in South Jersey just recently, is unopposed for the nomination, while the Republican side of the ballot features a crowd of four. Joe Kyrillos, currently a state senator, is the Regular Organization Republican candidate and has been endorsed by the county Republican party, and faces three others—Bader Qarmout, David Douglas Brown and Joe “Rudy” Rullo. Rullo is running under the slogan Republican Party of Gloucester County; however, party officials indicate he has no connection to the local Republican Party, and has not been endorsed at the county level, despite Rullo's implications otherwise. 

President

Incumbent President Barack Obama and his slate of delegates are unopposed on the Democratic side of the ballot, and the Republican side still features four candidates—though only one is still active. 

Mitt Romney, the de facto Republican nominee for president, faces Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum—but Republicans will also vote separately for slates of delegates to represent the party at the Republican convention. They’ll have five to choose from: Four slates attached to the candidates, and one delegate—Ariel Miles—running for an at-large seat.

Other races

Democrats will also have a chance to vote for their county party committee representatives across all 19 districts in West Deptford. Those races are detailed on the sample ballot included above.

Not registered as a member of any party? The state’s primary allows you to declare at the polls and vote.

Editor's note: this article has been modified from its original after incorrectly noting Rullo had the Republican Party of Gloucester County's endorsement. Rullo, while running under the Republican Party of Gloucester County slogan, actually has no endorsement locally.