Monmouth County is becoming a battleground in New Jersey politics, but in this year’s GOP gubernatorial primary?
There was never any doubt that the home town girl would dominate.
On Saturday morning, the Monmouth County Republican committee gathered at its usual haunt (iPlay America in Freehold) and voted by acclamation to give its former sheriff and incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno the coveted county line on this June’s primary ballot.
“No one knows Monmouth County better than Kim Guadagno and she will be a fantastic governor,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden, chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Organization. “Kim was an outstanding sheriff to the people of Monmouth County and no one in this race can even come close to her anti-tax, pro-law enforcement bona fides. She raised her three kids in Monmouth Beach with her husband, Mike, and she lived through Hurricane Sandy like the rest of us. Simply put: she understands the challenges and opportunities facing Monmouth County families.”
Guadagno now boasts the official county “line” in Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic, Salem and Warren counties.
Her opponent Jack Ciattarelli is the official candidate of Mercer and Somerset counties; he also won the screening committee endorsement in Burlington County on Friday and is expected to win its line on Monday.
The biggest conty battles to come? Bergen (where Guadagno won the screening committee vote) and Middlesex (where Ciattarelli won the vote but came 1% short of a formal recommendation).
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