Lautenberg wins landslide victory in Democratic Senate primary, will face Zimmer in November; Myers, Lance win GOP House nods

Frank Lautenberg, 84, won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating Rob Andrews by a wide margin: Getty Images Photo

Incumbent Frank Lautenberg has won renomination for a fifth term in the United States Senate. He leads Rep. Rob Andrews by a 61%-34% margin. Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello is running a weak third with 5% of the vote. Lautenberg won huge margins in Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Passaic counties, carried Middlesex and Union comfortably, and held his own in several South Jersey counties.

In the GOP primary, former Rep. Dick Zimmer leads State Sen. Joe Pennacchio by a 46-40% margin. Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin has 14% of the vote.

Medford Mayor Chris Myers defeated Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly and former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Murphy by a wide margin for the third district seat of retiring GOP Rep. Jim Saxton. Myers won 48% of the vote, with Kelly and Murphy each receiving 26%. Myers will face Democratic State Sen. John Adler in the general election.

In the 7th district, State Sen. Leonard Lance captured the Republican nomination for the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Mike Ferguson. He won 40% of the vote, defeating Kate Whitman (20%), former Summit Council President Kelly Hatfield (15%), Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks (12%), former prosecutor Tom Roughneen (7%), Darren Young (5%), and Seton Hall University professor A.D. Amar (1%). Lance will face Assemblywoman Linda Stender, the Democratic nominee.

Dennis Shulman, a blind Rabbi from Bergen County, easily defeated attorney Camille Abate and businessman Roger Bacon in the 5th district Democratic primary. Shulman, who won 60% of the vote, will face three-term incumbent Scott Garrett in the fall.

In Atlantic City, former Mayor Lorenzo Langford defeated Acting Mayor Scott Evans by a 60%-33% margin. Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage easily won renomination, but two incumbent Councilmen in Plainfield were defeated.

Hudson County Freeholder Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico has defeated former County Clerk Mary Jane Desmond in Freeholder District 1 by a 58%-38% margin. Incumbent Eliu Rivera defeated Sean Connors by a 52%-41% margin in Freeholder District 4. In the District 5 race, where incumbent Maurice Fitzgibbons is retiring, Anthony Romano won 42%, with Frank "Pupie" Raia receiving 30% and Ines Garcia Keim winning 28%.

Two-term Essex County Freeholder Ralph Caputo won the Democratic primary over former Montclair Mayor Robert Russo by 409 votes, a 52%-48% win.  Caputo is also a State Assemblyman.

Four-term Freeholder Tony Mack, who had lost party support as a candidate for re-election in Mercer County, lost the Democratic primary to challenger John Cimino by nearly 8,000 votes.

In other congressional races, Democrat Camille Andrews won 84% of the vote for the seat being vacated by her husband. She is expected to be replaced by South Jersey Democratic leaders, who will select a candidate to face Republican Dale Glading. Glading won 82%-18% over Fernando Powers, a supporter of Ron Paul and Murray Sabrin.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo won the Republican primary for an eighth term, defeating Paul/Sabrin backer Donna Ward, 89%-11%.

In the sixth district, former Judge Robert McLeod will face eleven-term Rep. Frank Pallone. McLeod won 55% against Peter Cerrato (29%) and Paul/Sabrin supporter James Hogan (16%).

Seven-term Republican Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen defeated Kate Erber, who was aligned with Paul and Sabrin, by an 87%-13% margin. He will face a rematch against his ’06 opponent, Tom Wyka, won the Democratic primary with 70% of the vote against Ellen Greenberg (16%) and Harry Hager (14%).