Incumbent Democrats Fend Off Camden County Primary Challenge

The incumbent Democrats easily turned back a primary challenge across Camden County Tuesday night. Although the Democrats of Camden County offered a vocal challenge to the Camden County Democratic Party, it appears as though that challenge was turned back across the county, and the stage is set for the Nov. 5 general elections.

Below are unofficial results with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to the county website. Winners are listed in bold. Results remain unofficial until certified.

Camden County Clerk Democratic Primary (one seat, contested):

MOHAMMAD KABIR, Build A New Camden County: 2,492

RENA MARGULIS, Democrats of Camden County: 3,741

JOSEPH RIPA, Camden County Democratic Party: 23,954

Camden County Freeholder Special Election Democratic Primary (contested):

MELINDA KANE, Camden County Democratic Party: 23,667

KYLE NASH, Democrats of Camden County: 6,235

Camden County Freeholder Regular Election Democratic Primary (two seats, contested):

EDWARD T. MCDONNELL, Camden County Democratic Party: 21,757

RANDALL MCGINNIS, Progressive Democrats For Change: 2,424

STEVEN PANARELLO, Progressive Democrats For Change: 2,254

CARMEN RODRIGUEZ, Camden County Democratic Party: 22,736

AMANDA SEMPLE, Real Progressive Candidates For Camden County: 3,392

JASON A. WITTE, Real Progressive Candidates For Camden County: 1,931

Camden County Clerk Republican Primary (uncontested):

ROY GUSTAFSON: 7,315

Camden County Freeholder Special Election Republican Primary (uncontested):

KEITH CYBULSKI: 7,477

Camden County Freeholder Regular Election Republican Primary (uncontested):

CLAIRE GUSTAFSON: 7,243

NICOLE NANCE: 7,222

Last week, Margulis called for the state attorney general to investigate Ripa over decisions he made related to ballot placement, particularly the disqualification of freeholder candidates Jennifer O'Donnell and Michael Lovett.

The disqualification removed the party's other candidates from Column 2 and placed them out in Column 4.

As a whole, the Democrats of Camden County have voiced opposition to South Jersey power broker George Norcross. The Democratic Party has a tight grip on county government, as well as local municipal governments. For the second consecutive election, though, candidates are facing primary challengers for many seats.

Norcoross has been closely aligned with most governors over the past two decades, both Democrat and Republican, a powerful insurance executive whose brother, Philip, reportedly once made major changesto legislation before it was passed, according to The New York Times.

He's also a childhood friend of Senate President Steve Sweeney whose politics seem to reflect those of the so-called political boss: fiscally moderate and socially liberal.

Beyond just this primary, infighting among Democrats has taken center stage in Camden County over the last few weeks, as officials have engaged in a war of words with Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy over what they call Murphy's "relentless attacks" on Camden businesses who receive tax incentives from the state.

They called him "hypocritical" following a report that shows Murphy lobbied in favor of tax credits for Goldman Sachs back in 2003. They then called on the chairman of the task force Murphy appointed to examine the state tax credit system to resign due to a perceived conflict of interest.

The Democrats of Camden County have endorsed the task force, and insisted that the task force conduct a comprehensive investigation of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Tax Incentives program.

The task force has said it will release its initial findings ahead of its third public hearing next week.

The Camden County Democratic Party has called the Democrats of Camden County group of Republicans running disguised as Democrats. The Democrats of Camden County have accused the Camden County Democratic Party of running phantom candidates designed to crowd the ballot and confuse voters in the primary.

The general elections are Nov. 5. For the full list of polling places throughout the county, visit camdencounty.com.