TOMS RIVER – Voters choose who they want to lead them, but how did the politicians even get on the ballot to begin with? That starts with the leaders of the two main parties.
Ocean County’s political landscape will undoubtedly undergo significant shifts as a result of the recent GOP county convention.
With Democrats proving to be negligible competition, particularly in county-level races, the Republican elite’s choice of candidates has some wondering if a select group of people actually pick the winners even before voters go to the polls.
George Gilmore’s comeback as the head of the Ocean County Republican Organization despite his conviction – and later pardon – for tax evasion reveals his stature as a powerful kingmaker in local politics. Notably, Gilmore is responsible for handpicking members of the screening committee, who interview and endorse candidates. Then, at the convention, the rest of the Republicans choose who is awarded the coveted county line.
When looking at your ballot, the “county line” candidates make one vertical line. Often, people will just vote for all candidates on the party line, without knowing much about them.
In the race for the two available seats on the county commission, the five-member board that governs the county, Gilmore unveiled the screening committee’s recommendations of Manchester Mayor Robert Arace and Jennifer Bacchione, the President of the Berkeley Board of Education, who also holds the role of Executive Director in the Ocean County Republican Organization. With no nominations from the floor, the duo secured endorsements through vocal acclamation.
“I hired Jennifer as my executive director in January of last year,” said Gilmore. “She’s been working with every single town in the county – helping them with any issues they had and helping them with their campaigns. She developed a good rapport with people.”
Gilmore also pointed out that both Arace and Bacchione represent a newer generation of candidates, with the youngest member on the current commissioner board at 66 years old. He suggested they might bring an updated set of ideas. Arace is 30, half the age of the youngest sitting member.
“I think putting Rob with Jennifer is going to be just tremendous,” Gilmore added. “Rob’s been very forthright with the population in Manchester and transparent about what he’s trying to accomplish.”
Incumbent Commissioners Barbara “Bobbi Jo” Crea and Gary Quinn underwent the screening process to win the party line. When they learned that they didn’t have the support of the screening committee, they each withdrew from the primary.
In a press release, Crea expressed her commitment to party unity, stating that she respects the decision of the screening committee and will continue to support the organization. Quinn’s press release cited his demanding schedule, which often conflicted with spending time with his family, especially his three young grandchildren, as a factor in his decision to forgo reelection.
While not addressing this race in particular, Dr. Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor and author of “The Impact of New Jersey’s County Line Primary Ballots on Election Outcomes, Politics, and Policy,” suggested that candidates are keenly aware of the county line’s influence in determining primary election outcomes. Her study revealed that many candidates withdraw from primaries if they fail to secure party endorsements, especially in county-level and state legislative races, where candidates may lack widespread voter recognition. Rubin added that this phenomenon extends even to incumbents.
“Elected officials are aware of the importance of the line for their reelection and the power of county party chairs to award the line,” wrote Rubin. “If an elected official does not do as the county chair wants, they can lose the line and almost surely lose the primary, ending, or severely curtailing their political careers.”
“In such an environment, it is the county party chairs rather than the voters that elected officials must please to be elected and to stay in office,” Rubin continued. “This gives the county party chairs substantial power to shape the state’s politics and public policy.”
However, Gilmore refuted allegations suggesting that he actively sought replacements for Crea and Quinn due to their backing of Sheriff Michael Mastronardy over him during his closely contested win to reclaim leadership of the Ocean County Republican Organization in 2022.
“That’s in the past,” Gilmore stated.
An anonymous source pointed out that Gilmore’s recent selection of county and state-level candidates has predominantly been from municipalities governed by the Faulkner Act, where mayors wield considerable influence.
“This move,” speculated the source, “Could potentially grant Gilmore increased power at the local level, as he gets involved in the selection process after the mayor moves to a higher office and needs to be replaced.”
Gilmore dismissed the claim and pointed out that towns with mayor-strong governments are also the largest in the county.
Party Line And Primary Ballots
The reality is that the behind-the-scenes dynamics involving promises made to secure votes for the party line remain largely unknown. Gilmore said there are none and pointed to his ability to secure votes and count them. Nevertheless, the influence of endorsements cannot be understated.
Ocean County, along with eighteen other counties, uses a ballot layout that groups endorsed candidates together from presidential to municipal races. Historically, a significant number of voters opt to simply “vote the line,” underscoring the impact of these endorsements on electoral outcomes.
The issue of party organizations and their chairs wielding significant power over ballot placement has sparked a pending lawsuit by 3rd District Congressman Andy Kim, a Democrat, as he vies for a United States Senate seat against Tammy Murphy, Governor Phil Murphy’s wife. The lawsuit targets county clerks in all 19 counties that award a line in their primary process, advocating for elections to be conducted using the “office block” style, where all candidates are listed together under the offices they’re seeking.
This brings to mind Rubin’s analysis, which included documenting the influence of party lines in several races, including the 2020 Republican primary race in the third congressional district.
Gilmore was not the chair when the Ocean County GOP’s screening committee recommended Katie Gibbs, but David Richter secured its party line endorsement. Gibbs received the line in Burlington County and received 57 percent of the primary vote there, dropping to 22 percent in Ocean County. On the other hand, Richter’s support surged from 43 percent without the line in Burlington to 78 percent with it in Ocean.
“Ocean County is a conservative Republican County,” said Gilmore. “And Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket. And, we’d like to have people who have similar values going down the line.”
“Not everyone is informed on where candidates stand and what their positions are,” Gilmore added. “Therefore, they rely upon the organization to select who with them should be supported.”
Gilmore said that it’s ultimately the quality of the candidates that should matter and pointed out that the line has been defeated in some cases. He suggested a ruling from the court (in Kim’s case) would most likely still allow candidates to be bracketed together, whether by party name or slogan.
Republican Convention Highlights
Former President Donald Trump, the sole presidential candidate seeking the organization’s endorsement, garnered resounding approval by voice vote within the county convention held at the Clarion Hotel in Toms River. Congressmen Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew faced no opposition in the Republican primary and were similarly met with enthusiastic affirmation.
Voters eligible to endorse Ocean County’s party line for the United States Senate did so discreetly within the confines of a voting booth. Curtis Bashaw, characterized as an entrepreneur, real estate developer, and job creator, clinched the line with over 70 percent of the vote in his favor.
A decision was made through a secret ballot to replace Toms Rivers’ official municipal club, Republicans for Toms River. This club had replaced the Toms River Regular Republican Club in 2021 under the leadership of former Chairman Frank B. Holman III. The majority of votes strongly supported reverting to the original club, which had been a fixture for over five decades.
“I think the recognition of it being an official voting member club was improperly taken away for it for no good reason,” said Gilmore of the club that was reinstated. “There was a major disagreement between all Republicans, and the new club was hastily formed, and they hadn’t even met before they filed to be recognized.”
