Politics & Government

Morris County Tea Party Candidate to Face Codey

Jasey and McKeon fend off Assembly challenger, while Whippany's Eames earns GOP Senate bid.

Sen. Richard Codey's challenger in the 27th District will be a Morris County Tea Party candidate, according to Tuesday's unofficial primary election results.

Voters selected William H. Eames, of Whippany, co-founder of the Morris Patriots, over Essex Fells Councilman William Sullivan, in the GOP Senate primary, according to unofficial results.

For Assembly, Democratic Assemblymen John McKeon and Assemblywoman Mia Jasey fended off a primary challenger. The incumbents will face a Livingston lawyer and the Chatham Township mayor in the November election.

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In the Republican Senate race, Sullivan won Essex County but lost the primary in the newly aligned 27th district, which now includes several Morris County municipalities, including Madison and Chatham Township. Eames won 53 percent of the vote with 94 percent of precincts reporting.

In Morris County, Eames garnered 57 percent of the vote with all but one precinct reporting. Eames earned 2,845 votes in the county, while Sullivan received 2,141, or about 43 percent.

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With about 92 percent of the precincts reporting in Essex County, Sullivan has garnered nearly 57 percent of the votes with 973, while Eames has received 731 votes—about 43 percent—with 117 out of 127 precincts reporting.

Codey (D-Roseland), the longtime incumbent and former governor, was uncontested in the primary. While the 27th District still leans Democratic, Codey said he’s not taking his re-election bid lightly.

"I'm going to campaign. I've been campaigning and I'm not going to stop until November,” Codey said.

His challenger is a former executive director of local chambers of commerce and a resident of Whippany for nearly 30 years. Eames is co-founder of the Morris Patriots, a Tea Party organization, and coordinator of Grassroots-NJ.

"Bill Sullivan called William Eames and wished him luck and pledged his support," a campaign spokesman for the Essex Republican Party said. "He looks forward to a spirited fall campaign to unseat Dick Codey."

Meanwhile, for state Assembly, Ellen Steinberg, a former mayor of Millburn, challenged McKeon and Jasey.

Steinberg said she was glad she gave it a try. The experience was overwhelmingly positive, she said.

"I'm very glad we did this," said Steinberg, who lives in Short Hills. "The whole campaign was about standing up. People don't just get anointed. It's important that we have challenges within the system. It shouldn't just be a 'gimme.' I still believe we need people who are going to challenge [Gov. Chris] Christie."

Jasey, of South Orange, has served in the Assembly since 2007. McKeon, of West Orange, has served in the Assembly since 2001. Jasey received 42 percent of the votes and McKeon won 39 percent, with 94 percent of precincts reporting.

Holtzman, a property tax attorney from Livingston, and Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner will go up against the incumbents.

The redrawn 27th District includes the Morris County municipalities of Chatham Township, Madison, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover Township and Harding Township. Essex County municipalities include Caldwell, Essex Fells, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Roseland, South Orange and West Orange.


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