NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The establishment forces in the Democrat Party prevailed in more ways than one on June 7.
Hillary Clinton won the state’s Democratic Presidential primary carrying more than 60% of the vote in Middlesex County, according to the latest results, and besting her opponent Bernie Sanders.
The victory makes it increasingly likely that Clinton, a former US Senator and Secretary of State, will become the first woman to earn the nomination of a major political party for the country’s highest office.
In New Brunswick, the seat of power in a county dominated by Clinton supporters, the former First Lady pulled down 57% of the votes in New Brunswick, prevailing in 19 of the city’s 28 election districts, and she performed even better in the rest of the county.
Countywide, Clinton received 47,978 votes to Sanders’ 30,498, defeating him 61%-39%, according to the county’s election results website.
Meanwhile, reality television personality and real estate mogul Donald Trump prevailed in the Republican Party’s primary.
Trump’s two opponents on the ballot dropped out of the race over a month ago, but John Kasich still got 21 votes and Ted Cruz got 16 to Trump’s 134 from the Hub City, meaning Trump got just 4.27% of the total votes cast in both primaries.
Countywide, Trump pulled down 20,995 votes, or 85% of the Republicans who voted, and just over 20% of the total votes cast.
Complete statewide results from New Jersey, or any results from California, the largest state participating in today’s primary elections, are not yet available.
It was all part of the second-largest one-day conglomeration of statewide presidential contests during this election season.
Clinton won the primaries in New Mexico and South Dakota, while Sanders won the North Dakota Democratic caucus, a different type of contest that involves campaign surrogates attempting to persuade voters to their candidates over the course of an evening.
Middlesex County’s contested Sheriff primary within the Republican party appears to have been won by “Peter” Pedro Pisar, the candidate endorsed by the Middlesex County Republican Organization (MCRO).
That means Mildred Scott, a two-term Sheriff running for re-election, will face Pisar in the primary.
The Hub City’s top vote-getter was Congressman Frank Pallone, whose district includes portions of Middlesex and Monmouth County. Â He received 2,486 votes in New Brunswick, according to the County Clerk’s Office.
But Scott, the incumbent Sheriff who has been compared to Clinton by Pisar, appears to be the top vote-getter countywide, with more than 58,000 votes counted so far.
Those results show 16,664 voters backed Pisar, while his opponent David Pawski finished with 3,524 votes in the lopsided 83%-17% contest.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick resident Blanquita Valenti and her two incumbent running mates for County Freeholder, Kenneth Armwood and Charles Kenny garnered 2,089 votes from the Hub City.
In countywide numbers that show just how small New Brunswick really is by comparison, the Democratic Freeholder candidates drew between 53,000 and 56,000 votes each, while their future Republican opponents finished between 17,000 and 19,000.
Three Democratic City Council candidates including two incumbents will face no opposition on the ballot because no Republicans or Independents filed to run for office this year.
Glenn Fleming led the three-person team with 2,188 votes in the primary, followed by newcomer Suzanne Sicora-Ludwig with 2,182, and John Anderson with 2,171.
While other towns like Piscataway and East Brunswick will now move on to contested general elections between Democrats and Republicans, New Brunswick voters will not have that same choice this fall.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
