Another election cycle has come and gone in Hudson County, and while there weren’t too many surprises, there were still some big winners and losers in the primary.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
WINNERS
Rob Menendez
The 8th District congressman was always favored in this one, but he absolutely dominated, hovering around 70 percent of the vote as of this writing. Menendez’s efforts from Delaney Hall to D.C. were appreciated by the vast majority of primary voters.
Now a regular presence on national talk shows as he becomes a leading face and voice against ICE, Menendez will look to help Democrats take back the House in November.
Alex Valdez
Fortunately the only Hudson County commissioner candidate that had to put his hands up and swing on Election Day is a muay thai specialist! After coming up short in 2023, Valdez was back with a vengeance this year and he won the three-way race by about 16 points.
Backed by the HCDO and the mayors in his district, he left nothing to chance, pounding the pavement in every corner of his district. As luck would have it, he’s the only candidate with a Republican opponent.
Carol Jean Doyle
The Kearny mayor went 2-2 in Tuesday’s Town Council races, but that means she will almost certainly soon enjoy a 7-2 majority.
She also backed the aforementioned Valdez over Kearny Policemen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) President Mina Elkadious and Harrison Councilman Larry Bennett, which proved to be the right call.
Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski
Obviously the Bayonne municipal elections were last month, but since there were only six seats on the line in a relatively sleepy affair, I waited until now to opine.
Ashe-Nadrowski, the first female mayor elect in Peninsula City history, showed a much improved political acumen from 2022 and cruised to a 32-point win. Don’t look now, but come July 1st, Hudson County will have four women serving as mayor.
Losers
Mussab Ali
After over performing in November’s Jersey City mayoral campaign, the former Jersey City BOE president never hit his stride in the race to unseat Menendez, where he only secured marginally more votes than last year despite a much larger terrain to work with.
Ali was a game opponent who brought the fight to Menendez, but he is on track to lose every single municipality in the district, which doesn’t bode well for his political future.
The Republican Party
Hear me out: I know we’re light years away from a Republican senator, House members, or even county commissioner in Hudson County.
With that in mind, there was only one GOP candidate for commissioner and there is no Republican candidate in CD-8 for the first time since 2008. Further, GOP Senate nominee Justin Murphy currently has -$23.71 cash on hand in his bid to unseat Senator Cory Booker.
Fans of Competitive Primaries
There was no raging against the machine this time around as there were very few contested elections to speak of, and perhaps with the exception of the Kearny Town Council races, the ones with competitors went as expected.
And while voter turnout in a midterm year usually leaves something to be desired, less than 12 percent of voters casting a ballot with almost a week of early voting is really terrible when one U.S. Senate seat and three House seats are on the line.
Loyad Booker
The Bayonne councilman at-large having three other incumbent City Council members on his ticket proved to be the wrong move as Peninsula City voters clearly wanted change.
Booker also struggled to fundraise and really had a hard time finding a message that resonated with voters, resulting in Ashe-Nadrowski – who also swept the council races – just more than doubling his vote total.
