Democrat Pallone Wins Re-Election Against Republican Pezzullo

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone was able to keep his seat today from a challenge by Republican Rich Pezzullo.

Rep. Pallone has been declared the winner of New Jersey's sixth district Congressional race by both The Washington Post and Politico. With 45 percent of precincts reporting, Pallone has 58 percent of the vote (55,325 votes), compared to 41 percent (39,070) for Pezzullo.

New Jersey's Sixth Congressional district stretches from Carteret and Woodbridge into Edison, New Brunswick and down to Asbury Park. It hugs the Bayshore coastline, including towns such as Aberdeen, Matawan, Hazlet, Sea Bright and West Long Branch.

The odds were heavy that Pallone would keep his seat today. He has represented the district since 1998; it's a part of Central Jersey that was formerly made up of blue-collar factory workers. While much of that industry has shut down, or moved overseas, NJ 6 retains its pro-union, Democratic leanings. The sixth district is also extremely diverse, having seen a surge of new Asian and Hispanic residents in the past 20 years. It has voted for the Democrat in all the recent presidential elections: Hillary, Obama, Kerry and Gore.

Pezzullo is a proudly-Trump supporting Republican who hoped to identify with fellow Trump-supporters in the area, and use 2018 as his chance to topple Pallone.

RELATED: 2018 Election Results: Vote A Referendum On 'Trump's GOP': https://patch.com/us/across-america/2018-election-results-vote-referendum-trump-gop

Their views are starkly different: Pallone wants to restore and expand the Affordable Care Act. Pezzullo wants it dismantled entirely. Pallone is one of Trump's loudest critics on the left, while Pezzullo calls his opponent "obstructionist" and says he would vote for Trump again if the presidential election was tomorrow. Pallone says we must address global warming; Pezzullo questions the extent to which it's even happening.

Pezzullo also supports building the border wall with Mexico while Pallone supports Obama's DREAM Act and wants to extend protections for illegal immigrants already here. Pezzullo says illegal immigration is "crippling" the U.S. economy, and that "people don't take our immigration laws seriously."

Related: Q&A With Congress Candidates Frank Pallone And Rich Pezzullo

Images via the campaigns