Blue Wave Hits Somerset County For 2nd Year In A Row

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The "blue wave" that was seen across the country on Election Night was also seen in Somerset County as Democrats took the lead in most races, according to unofficial results.

Somerset County has reported 100 percent of its districts. However, these results remain unofficial until all mail-in and provisional ballots are counted.

Somerset County saw high voter turnout, with 129,899 ballots cast out of 264,789 registered voters. This equates to 49.06 percent voter turnout.

Federal Races

Democrats swept in all three federal races in Somerset County.

Democrat Corey Booker achieved 81,952 votes over Justin Murphy with 42,721 votes in Somerset County.

For U.S. District 7 in the House of Representatives, Bridgewater native and Democrat Rebecca Bennett received 39,968 votes over Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. with 26,802.

In the District 12 race, Democrat Adam Hamaway received 43,149 votes over Republican Gregg Mele with 16,120 votes.

County Races

In the Somerset County Commissioner race, Democratic incumbents Paul Drake (78,985 votes) and Elizabeth Graner (79,975 votes) won over Republicans Dan Gallic (4,221 votes) and Rakesh "Rocky" Ganta (43,717 votes).

Local Races

Looking at the local level, Democrats also took the lead in 21 of the 29 Somerset County races.

The Democratic led towns included Bernards Township, Bernardsville, Bound Brook, Branchburg, Franklin, Green Brook, Hillsborough, Manville, Millstone, Montgomery, North Plainfield, Peapack-Gladstone(Council), Raritan, Rocky Hill, Somerville, and South Bound Brook.

Republicans led in towns including Bedminster, Far Hills, Peapack-Gladstone(Mayor), Warren, and Watchung.

Many towns that led with blue were traditionally Republican led for many years, including Bernards, Bridgewater, and Hillsborough.

All three of those towns saw a shift toward Democrats in office in the 2025 general election. That trend repeated itself in the 2026 general election.

The vote tallies, however, do not represent the final election outcome. Vote totals will remain unofficial until all mail-in and provisional ballots are counted. A final certification of votes will be on Nov. 18.

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