SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — The New Jersey primaries are in the books: Three South Jersey-based U.S. representatives who faced challengers will move on to the general election in November.
Democrats Donald Norcross and Andy Kim and Republican Jeff Van Drew won their respective races handily Tuesday night.
In the 1st Congressional District, Norcross defeated Mario DeSantis 78% to 22%, with 80% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning. The Associated Press called the race shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Norcross, who is seeking a fifth term, will face Republican Claire Gustafson in November. Gustafson defeated Damon Galdo and was leading 69% to 31% as of Wednesday morning. Norcross and Gustafson will square off in a rematch of the 2020 election, when Norcross won 62.5% to 37.5%.
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In the 2nd Congressional District, Jeff Van Drew defeated two challengers with 86% of the Republican vote. He is seeking a third term.
His challenger in November is Democrat Tim Alexander, who won 62% to 38% over Carolyn Rush.
Then in the 3rd Congressional District, Andy Kim, with 93% of the vote as of Wednesday morning, defeated Reuven Hendler.
Kim is seeking his third term in office. He will face Republican businessman Bob Healey. Healey topped two challengers with 53% of the vote.
One of those challengers was Bellmawr gym owner Ian Smith, with 38%. Smith became widely known for keeping his Atilis Gym open early on in the pandemic, adamantly defying the governor’s lockdown orders.
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The New Jersey Division of Elections did not release statewide turnout data. Locally, Camden County reported nearly 22% of registered Democrats and a little over 16% of Republicans cast their ballots.
In Burlington County, about 22% of registered Republicans and 20% of Democrats voted. Gloucester County, which did not offer a breakdown by party, reported 12.37% turnout on Tuesday.
New Jersey has closed primaries, so those without party affiliation could not vote for any of the candidates.
The general election is Nov. 8.