Showdown Set For Essex County Sheriff In 2024 Primary Election

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There’s going to be a new sheriff in Essex County at the end of the year. And the 2024 primary election will have a major role in shaping the playing field for a final showdown in November.

The primary election will take place in New Jersey on Tuesday, June 4. Voters will get a chance to cast ballots for candidates to represent their political party in the general election. The winners will then face off against each other and any independent or third-party candidates on Nov. 5.

Last month, longtime Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura – a Democrat – announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024, setting up a power vacuum in the county that will need to be filled when his term ends. See Related: Essex County's Longest-Tenured Sheriff Won't Seek Re-Election

Two candidates have since stepped up and announced their plans to run for the Democratic Party nomination in the primary election, and they both have experience in the sheriff’s office: Amir Jones and Gary Nash. See Related: 2 Democrats Running To Replace Fontoura

Meanwhile, two Republican candidates will be facing off for the party line in the primary election: Nicholas Pansini (Essex County Republican Party Organization, Inc.) and Robert Bianco (America First Republicans).

Pansini ran against Fontoura as a Republican in the 2021 general election, getting 38,473 votes against Fontoura's 127,844.

ELECTION INFORMATION

Find your local polling place, see if you’re registered, or learn more about voting in New Jersey here.

Here are some key dates to keep in mind if you plan on voting in the 2024 primary election in Essex County:

• April 10 – Last day for Party Declaration (55 days prior to election)
• May 14 – Last day for registration and transfer (21 days prior to election)
• May 28 – Last day to apply by mail for a Vote-By-Mail Ballot (7 days prior to election)

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