The Mercer County Clerk’s office has now reported approximately 1,200 mail-in ballots and it appears that Democrat Uma Purandare has pulled far ahead of Ed Jackowski in the race for Hopewell Township Committee. The tally is now 2,650 votes for Jackowski and 3,504 for Purandare. Although mail-in ballots will be collected until November 8, it is unlikely that they will change the outcome of this race.
For Hopewell Township’s seats on the Board of Education, the standings are now:
Kimberly Stolow: 2,592
Jacqueline Genovesi: 2,996
Deborah Linthorst: 2,711
With only 119 votes separating Stolow and Linthorst, the race remains too close to call.
In the Governor’s race, incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has pulled ahead of Republican challanger Jack Ciattarelli by nearly 15,000 votes. About 89% of the expected vote has been tallied across the state, with most of the outstanding votes still to come from counties that lean Democratic. An incumbent Democratic governor has not won re-election in New Jersey since Brendan Byrne in the 1970s.
Nearby, in the 14th legislative district, which covers Hamilton, East Windsor and Hightstown in Mercer as well as parts of Middlesex County, a very tight race has resulted in an apparent win for the incumbent Assemblymember Democrats Wayne DeAngelo and Dan Benson and for incumbent State Senator Democrat Linda Greenstein. The 16th District, which covers parts of Mercer (Princeton), Middlesex, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties remains too close to call for both the Assembly race and for the State Senate race.
For previous coverage on the 2021 general election, click here.