Who's running for NJ Assembly in Morris County? GOP looks to maintain edge over Democrats

Yahoo

07-04-2025

Will this be the year for Democrats to finally break the Republican hold on state legislative seats representing Morris County in Trenton?
All 80 seats in the New Jersey Assembly − including eight in four districts covering Morris towns − are on the ballot this year. It's been a generation since voters chose a local Democrat.
While periodic redistricting has moved some towns from one district to another, 30 of Morris County's 39 municipalities are currently in districts 25 and 26. The rest are sprinkled across the 21st and 24th districts.
All eight Assembly incumbents are running for re-election and are unopposed in the June Republican primary. So are their Democratic challengers, who history strongly suggests will be underdogs in the November general election.
Here's a rundown of who will be on this year's ballot, which will also feature the race for governor. Morris County towns in the districts are listed in bold. Each district has two state Assembly seats up for grabs.
TOWNS: Bloomingdale, Boonton, Denville, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Lincoln Park, Montville, Morris Plains, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Pompton Lakes, Ringwood, Riverdale, Wanaque.
REPUBLICANS: Redistricting in 2023 brought Assemblyman Brian Bergen to the 26th District. Bergen, with longtime incumbent Jay Webber, is unopposed in the June primary.
The 2023 redistricting also set off a bitter contested primary with County Commissioner Tom Mastrangelo challenging longtime District 26 Sen. Joe Pennacchio. Pennachio emerged as a victor with about 60% of the vote.
The eventful 2023 GOP primary also saw former Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce seeking to regain the Assembly seat she lost in 2021, when the county Republican Committee endorsed her in favor of Christian Barranco. DeCroce, who served five terms in Trenton, finished third in the primary to Webber and Barranco.
Webber, in a Facebook post, said he was a "champion for fiscal discipline, government transparency and individual liberty" and "standing firm against overreach from Trenton." Bergen called himself a "a fierce advocate for lower taxes, supporting small businesses, and protecting the rights of veterans and first responders."
DEMOCRATS: Michael Mancuso and Walter Mielarczyk are unopposed in the primary and endorsed by the Morris County Democratic Committee. Mancuso is a former candidate for Pequannock Town Council. Mielarczyk, who also ran in 2023, works as a research and development engineering manager
Mancuso's Facebook page states he is a lifelong New Jersey resident and small business owner. "I work daily to support our community," he wrote. "I'm committed to keeping NJ the best place to live and grow, bringing passion and dedication to our state.
TOWNS: Boonton Township, Butler, Dover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Madison, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Mine Hill, Morris, Morristown, Mount Arlington, Randolph, Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens, West Milford, Wharton
REPUBLICANS: Assembly members Christian Barranco of Jefferson and Aura Dunn of Mendham face no primary challengers in their re-election bids.
Barranco, first elected in 2021 in the 26th, was moved to the 25th after redistricting two years ago. Dunn was elected in 2019 to the seat previously held by Anthony M. Bucco, who now represents the district in the state Senate.
On her campaign website, Dunn vowed to be "relentless about bringing economic and fiscal security to our families. We can not bring this security to New Jersey by increasing punitive taxes and reckless spending on policies that do nothing to support the honest and hard-working residents of this state."
DEMOCRATS: Two Morristown officials, Councilman Steve Pylypchuk and Planning Board member Marisa Sweeney, are challenging the incumbents with no endorsements from their county committees. But they are among many statewide Assembly candidates endorsed by the gubernatorial campaign of Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who's framed his race as a challenge of the Democratic Party establishment in New Jersey.
'Families in District 25 need a leader who understands their struggles firsthand,' Pylypchuk, 38, said in his campaign announcement. 'This campaign is about creating a new New Jersey − one where opportunity and equity are within reach for everyone.'
Sweeney also is the owner and creator of Be Well Integrative Health Services, a women's wellness center in Morristown.
Asked why the Morris County Democratic Committee did not endorse Pylypchuk and Sweeney, committee Chair Amalia Duarte said the pair didn't seek it.
TOWNS: Allamuchy, Andover Borough, Andover Township, Branchville, Byram, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Frankford, Franklin (Sussex), Fredon, Green, Hamburg, Hampton (Sussex), Hardyston, Hopatcong, Independence, Lafayette, Montague, Mount Olive, Netcong, Newton, Ogdensburg, Roxbury, Sandyston, Sparta, Stanhope, Stillwater, Sussex, Vernon, Walpack, Wantage, Washington (Morris).
REPUBLICANS: Redistricting and the retirements of Sen. Steve Oroho and Assemblyman Hal Wirths brought new faces to the district during the last election two years ago. This time around, the incumbents are seeking re-election.
In 2023, then-Chester Township Mayor Mike Inganamort and Sussex County Commissioner Dawn Fantasia were elected to succeed Wirths and Parker Space, who was elected to state Senate. Fantasia and Inganamort are unopposed in the GOP primary this year.
DEMOCRATS: Steve Barratt and Eugene Grinberg, both of the Long Valley section of Washington Township, are also unopposed in the primary. Grinberg, an attorney, is endorsed by the Morris County Democratic Committee. Barratt is another state Assembly candidate affiliated with Fulop's campaign.
Berkeley Heights, Bernards, Bernardsville, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Dunellen, Far Hills, Garwood, Green Brook, Long Hill, Middlesex, Mountainside, New Providence, Peapack-Gladstone, Springfield (Union), Summit, Warren, Watchung, Westfield
REPUBLICANS: Assemblywomen Michele Matsikoudis and Nancy Muñoz are the incumbents. Muñoz has been in office since she was first appointed in 2009. Matsikoudis was elected in 2021. The district's state senator, Jon Bramnick, is in the Republican field for governor this year.
DEMOCRATS: Andrew Macurdy and Vincent Kearney have no opposition in the June primary. Macurdy is a former federal and state prosecutor and is now a partner and co-chair of the Trial Practice Group at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. Kearney is a two-term Garwood councilman and a Union County sheriff's officer.
More: Embattled Sussex commissioner won't seek GOP nod for re-election. Who else is running?
Gordon MacInness (1994-1998) is the only Democrat to represent District 25 in more than 50 years. District 26 has not had a Democrat hold a seat since future Gov. Richard Codey served there in 1981, before redistricting moved him into the 27th District. A handful of Morris County towns in the 27th were shifted to another district in 2023.
District 24, now comprised mostly of Sussex and Warren counties, has not elected a Democrat since John Sinsimer in 1973, when the district covered different territory in Morris, Union and Passaic counties.
In District 21, which includes only three Morris towns, Neil Cohen (1990-1991) is the only Democrat to serve over the past half-century.
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Assembly candidates in Morris County: Dems, GOP file for primary