Election Day 2022 proved to be uneventful on the Congressional level for the South Jersey but saw big changes to certain county government compositions. 

In the First, Second, and Third Congressional Districts, all three incumbents won reelection by sizable margins: Congressman Donald Norcross, Congressman Jeff Van Drew and Congressman Andy Kim, respectively. 

Of the three Districts in the region, the Third District was seen as the most competitive with Republican challenger Bob Healey running against incumbent Andy Kim in a newly redrawn District. However, Congressman Kim was able to achieve a decisive victory over Mr. Healey by an 11-point margin with 95 percent reporting as of today.

The other competitive Congressional race was in the 7^th District with former State Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. unseating Congressman Tom Malinowski and flipping the District from Democratic to Republican control. This changes New Jersey’s Congressional makeup to 9-3 with a Democratic majority. 

On the county level, the most notable changes were seen in Cumberland County and Salem County. 

The Cumberland County Commissioner Board will regain Republican control with the victory of Commissioner-elect Victoria Lods and the reelection of Commissioner Douglas Albrecht, beating Democratic Commissioner Director Darlene Barber, who has served since 2013. This will give the Republicans a 4-3 majority for the next two years. Republicans have been out of power in Cumberland County since 2012, when a brief one-year reign ended, but this victory marks the first time in 40-years that Republicans will hold multi-year control.

In Salem County, the Republicans will regain complete control of the Board of Commissioners with a 5-0 majority with the victories of Commissioners-elect Dan Timmerman and Cordy Taylor. Democrats controlled county government as recently as 2018, but Salem County has veered hard towards Republicans in recent years as seen in recent races at the state and local levels.

The Gloucester County Board of Commissioners was a bright spot for the Democratic party in South Jersey-county politics, an area seen as trending Republican in recent years. The Democrats retained control with victories of Democratic incumbents Frank DiMarco and Denice DiCarlo beating Republicans Adam Wingate and Stephen Pakradooni, Jr. The win means Democrats will keep a 5-2 seat majority on the Board.

In both Burlington and Camden Counties, County Commissioner Boards held onto Democratic control. 

In Burlington County, Democratic Commissioner Allison Eckel was reelected, which keeps the Board at a 5-0 Democratic majority. In Camden County, the Commissioner Board remains fully Democrat controlled with the reelection of Edward McDonnell to his 10^th term in office, as well as Commissioner Virginia Betteridge. As a result, the Camden County Board of Commissioners keeps the Board with a 7-0 Democratic majority for the 31^st time.

The big news from Atlantic County was the victory of Democrat Ernest Coursey, who won overwhelmingly in a newly redrawn District less advantageous to the Democratic Party. However, Republicans also had a big night with two Republican incumbents, Commissioner Amy Gatto and Commissioner Richard Dase winning reelection. Republicans continue to hold a 7-2 majority over the Board.

Lastly, as expected, in Cape May County the Republicans swept the three countywide races. Voters re-elected Republican Marie Hayes, a county commissioner since 2013, along with her running mate, Andy Bulakowski. Mr. Bulakowski will replace longtime County Commissioner Gerald Thornton, who was first elected to the Board in 1975. Republicans hold unanimous control over the Board.

As always, the Chamber looks forward to working with the reelected and newly elected federal, county and local representatives in the coming years. 

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Christina Renna at crenna@chambersnj.com.