This is for personal, noncommercial use only.
Today's Front Page
Gas Buddy
Christie's popularity helps Republicans tighten grip on Ocean County
Print this Article- Font Size:
- Default font size
- Larger font size
There were 71 different positions up for election in Ocean County on Tuesday.
Republicans won 67.
The county has long been considered a Republican stronghold, but after Tuesday's staggering results, officials said this may be a high-water mark for GOP rule.
Republican Gov.-elect Chris Christie received more votes in Ocean County than in any other in the state - 123,882 compared with Democrat Gov. Jon S. Corzine's 53,628.
That success translated down the ballot. Republicans gained 11 municipal positions. Only two Democrats won contested races, and of the county's 33 towns, only one, Stafford Township, has a Democratic majority.
"We just got beat up," said Democratic freeholder candidate Robert Bianchini, who lost by more than 60,000 votes Tuesday night.
While licking their wounds Wednesday, local Democrats quickly pointed to Christie's immense popularity, and not anti-Corzine sentiments, to explain their own defeats, arguing all other Republicans rode his coattails to a victory.
"There was a juggernaut in this state for Chris Christie," said Fred Rubenstein, a Democratic candidate for Barnegat Township Committee, who lost by 2,001 votes. "Do I think that it impacted on (running mate) Jeff Schenker and I? Without a doubt."
County Republicans started an extensive effort to support Christie soon after they endorsed him last spring, building its already expansive organization in the county.
"We realized that if we didn't win this election, it would be a long time before we won another statewide election," said George Gilmore, the county Republican chairman.
He said finding support was easy - Christie is a county native, and he campaigned here more than any other gubernatorial candidate in the past.
Gilmore said party officials met to discuss strategy every other week during the summer and started weekly meetings in September. They recruited people to man phone banks, hold rallies and knock on doors to promote candidates at every level.
In the days before the election, the organization paid workers to canvas, and the day of the election volunteers drove voters to the polls.
"The Republican Party clearly targeted Ocean County as a treasure trove of potential Christie votes," said Marta Harrison, Ocean County Democratic vice chairwoman. "They spent a lot of time really getting out their vote, and I think those people stayed in the column and voted Republican all the way."
Gilmore dismissed that argument, though, saying that the organization worked just as hard to support its local and county officials.
"I don't know of any municipal campaign where they said, 'Well, we don't have to work anymore because Chris is doing well in Ocean County,'" Gilmore said.
But Democrats countered that the attention paid to the statewide race drowned out the issues on the local levels.
Harrison pointed to the recent nonpartisan election in Stafford Township this past spring, where Democrats nearly swept out a long-running Republican governing body.
With no high-profile race at the top of the ticket, she said, voters could focus on the local issues that she said Democrats could handle better.
"Christie won Ocean County by over 70,000 votes. When you go down from there, the closest any county Democrat came was about 54,000," said Ocean Township Democratic candidate Michele Rosen, who lost a committee race to Republican Joseph Lachawiec. "It's virtually impossible to recover at the local level from that."
Lachawiec, who won by 1,284 votes in Christie's small hometown, said the sweeping Republican victory should be looked at more as a team effort.
"It think it was a mutual, a symbiotic, relationship," he said, with Republicans all working to support each other. He added that Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler's success in last year's 3rd District race woke up the county's Republicans.
"We realized that we fell a little bit short last year," he said. "We were not successful, and I think we as Republicans realize that that will never, ever, happen again in Ocean County."
Democrats aren't sure what will happen next for their organization. Morale was high after the takeover in Stafford, which many viewed as an indication that the GOP's grip on the county was weakening.
But after Tuesday, Stafford is now the only Democrat-controlled town in the county, following Republican takeovers in South Toms River and Berkeley Township.
"I can't imagine doing any more than we did," said Democratic Assembly candidate Richard Visotcky. "We worked so hard for six months. We really put our lives on hold for six months during this campaign."
Visotcky earned 26,333 votes in Tuesday's election, combining the numbers from the Ocean, Burlington and Atlantic county towns that make up the 9th District. His running mate Robert Rue received 25,205.
Republicans Assemblyman Brian Rumpf received 53,988 and Assemblywoman-elect DiAnne Gove received 52,378.
Harrison said she thought next year would be better for Democrats, who she said will have to work harder to get their message out.
Contact Lee Procida:
609-457-8707
Posted in Ocean on Thursday, November 5, 2009 12:00 am Updated: 12:09 am.
1 comment:
Click here to report a comment as abusive.