Sullivan Wins Township's GOP Primary

Administrator Tom Ciccarone said Kevin Sullivan won a total of 573 votes in the township's Republican Primary Tuesday.

Initial results showed Sullivan with 566 votes, and contender Laura Ali Nonnenmacher with 530 votes.

When mail-in and in-person ballots were counted, Sullvan picked up seven more votes and Nonnenmacher picked up 23, for a final result of only 20 votes separating the two.

"It was a great race," Sullivan said after final results were released. "I think both of us ran good, effective campaigns, and I think we both ran as hard as we could."

Sullivan said he was impressed by turn-out in a primary election with no major contentious elections, other town local committee and Freeholder board.

"Obviously whenever you're competing, when you have a fine competitor, it brings out the best in you," Sullivan said, adding that is what Nonnenmacher did in this primary.

"My thanks to Laura for running a hard campaign, and my thanks to those who came out to vote," Sullivan said.

As for the contested general election in November, Sullivan said he will continue his strategy of "[talking] to as many people in the town as possible, to talk to them about what matters, what's important."

The final results were released less than 15 minutes after Ciccarone said at about 9:15 that unofficial results for the township's Republican primary are "close enough that I wouldn't celebrate yet."

When votes were tallied from the machines after polls closed, Ciccarone said Sullivan had 566 votes and Nonnenmacher 530.

Forty-one mail-in and in-person ballots were issued in Chatham Township, enough to upset the results, Ciccarone said.

Nonnenmacher was not present in the as results were released, and did not immediately return telephone calls requesting comments on the results.

Joseph Contorno, who did not actively campaign for the GOP primary in Chatham Township, also earned 20 votes.

Including mail-in and in-person voting, Township Clerk Greg LaConte said 1,409 out of the township's registered 7,544 voters came to the polls Tuesday, for a total voter turn-out of 18.67 percent.

Full results from Tuesday's township primary are below.

Republican Results

Democratic Results