John Inglesino

Following his stunning loss Tuesday night, Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino acknowledged today he could have campaigned harder in his re-election bid and might have benefited from altering his campaign strategy. But he said the main reason he failed to win re-election was his position on the ballot --fourth down out of four candidates competing for three seats.

Jim Murray spent 35 years as an engineer employed by Morris CountyJames Murray, a 68-year-old retired engineer from Chester Township, chewed into the usually sedate scenery of Morris County politics Tuesday when he upset Freeholder John Inglesino, stunning the political establishment and two other Freeholders.

Murray says his “message” propelled him to victory -- but he spent less than $5,000 on his campaign, and there was no obvious reason why Inglesino would find himself in trouble with Republican primary voters that have re-elected him twice by considerable pluralities.

Some Republicans have even wondered if there was a hiccup in the electronic voting machines – something the county’s top election official denies.

The biggest upset of the night was in Morris County, where Freeholder John Inglesino lost his bid for re-election in the Republican primary.  Inglesino, the former Mayor of Rockaway, has been considered one of the young rising stars of Morris County politics, and widely viewed as a likely candidate for higher office in the future. Inglesino has played a leading role in the reform of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where his law firm (he is partner's with former federal Judge and U.S. Attorney Herbert Stern) had been named as  the federal monitor.