U.S. Marine Corps veteran Nick De Gregorio won the Bergen GOP convention on Wedesday night giving the first time candidate a decisive edge heading into the June primary contest.
The party faithful gathered at BCRO headquarters in Hackensack to cast their ballots. When the dust settled, De Gregorio had received 302 votes from the committee members; his opponent Frank Pallotta – the 2020 party nominee – finished in a distant second place with 116.
Businessman Fred Schneiderman posted 15 votes, and Saw Skenderi received 3.
Bergen County represents a whopping 81% of the recently redrawn NJ-05’s registered voter pool. Pallotta does have the county line in Passaic County in addition to the county GOP’s support in Sussex though the red western outpost (with a diminished presence in the new NJ-05) doesn’t boast a formal line. Warren County is completely absent from the new district.
What’s next?
June when, again, De Gregorio nows needs to be considered the favorite. It’s believed NJ-05 could be a prime Republican upset opportunity this cycle as Joe Biden’s poll numbers continue to dip. 2021 GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli lost the newly-reconfigured district by a single percentage point last November and ran competitively in Bergen. There’s every indication that the president’s numbers have continued to fall over the past few months placing Democrat incumbent Josh Gottheimer in a difficult political position.
