2020 primary election results certified in Mercer County

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello has certified the election results for the June 7 primary elections. The elections were conducted primarily via mail-in ballots. Voters could also vote in person by casting provisional ballots. Voter turnout (mail and in-person combined) for the primaries in Mercer County was 23.78 percent, according to the clerk’s office.

Independent candidates had to file to run in the general election by primary day. Only one candidate, “Ed the barber” Stackhouse of Hamilton, filed to run as an independent, which means in races where only one party ran a candidate, the election has already been decided. The following races were already decided in the primary because there was no Republican or independent challenger: Mercer County Clerk, Mercer County Freeholder, Princeton Mayor, Princeton Council, Pennington Borough Council, and Ewing Council. The Hopewell Borough Council race has also already been decided because only one Republican and one Democrat ran for the two seats available on the council.

Bonnie Watson Coleman won the Democratic primary race for the 12th District seat for U.S. Representative. In Mercer County, she received 31,290 votes, while challenger Lisa McCormick received 3,942 votes. Watson Coleman will face Republican Mark Razzoli in the general election this November. Razzoli, a Democratic Councilman in Old Bridge, decided to run for Congress as a Republican and ran unopposed.

At the county level, Democrats in Mercer County ran unopposed in the primary election.

Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler, a Democrat, will face Republican Bucky Boccanfuso in the general election.

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello ran unopposed for another term as county clerk and a Republican did not run in the primary.

Incumbents Lucy Walter and John Cimino ran unopposed in the primary for Mercer County Freeholder, and no Republicans ran in the primary race.

In Princeton, Mark Freda ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for a four-year term as mayor. A Republican did not run in the primary. In the contested Princeton Council Democratic primary race for two three-year terms, incumbent Leticia Fraga was the top vote-getter with 3,522 votes, and Council President David Cohen has 3,078 votes. Challenger Dina Shaw received 2,103 votes.

Two Democrats, Catherine Chandler and Kennen Gross, ran unopposed in the primary for the Pennington Borough Council.

In Hopewell Township, Democrats Kevin Kuchinski and Michael Roger ran unopposed in the primary for the township committee and will face Republicans Edward Jackowski and Kevin Johnson in the general election.

In Hopewell Borough, two seats on the borough council are open in the November election. Only one Democrat and one Republican ran in the primaries. Ryan Kennedy ran unopposed as a Democrat and Charles Schuyler Morehouse ran unopposed as a Republican.

In Hightstown, Joseph Cicalese and Jordan Adler ran for the two open council seats in the Democratic primary, and will face James Eufemia in the general election.

Democrat Charles Whalen ran unopposed for the unexpired term open on the Hamilton Council. He will face Republican David Maher and independent “Ed the barber” Stackhouse in the November general election.

In Ewing, Kevin Baxter, Jennifer Keyes-Maloney, and David Schroth ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for three council seats. Republicans did not run in the primary.

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.