
We’re in the thick of convention season, Save Jerseyans, and the U.S. Senate race may be decided over the next few weeks.
On the Democrat side, Congressman Andy Kim (D, NJ-03) won the Warren convention over First Lady Tammy Murphy.
It’s his fourth straight win in the battle for county lines (notwithstanding the fact that few primary Dems reside in the red county), but the calendar is expected to get harder from here for the underdog. For example, next week’s Somerset contest reportedly isn’t going to be conducted by secret ballot.
In the battle for the GOP contest, Curtis Bashaw won Cumberland (where his campaign chair, State Senator Mike Testa Jr., is the chairman) while Christine Glassner won the GOP Warren Convention. Every vote counts in what could be a close contest, but Cumberland (1%) and Warren (3%) have historically represented small percentages of the statewide primary vote.
The Republican nomination fight has thus far turned on regional alliances. Bashaw (a Cape May developer) has dominated South Jersey contests while the Mendham mayor is running strong in the North; a third candidate – Alex Zdan, formerly of News 12 – scored a major upset last week by winning the Monmouth County line on the second ballot.