In 2020, with the pandemic raging, our state implemented that everyone would vote by mail and if you didn’t vote by mail, you voted via a provisional ballot. The turnout was huge! 73.85% of all voters in Somerset County voted. In 2020, Somerset County backed Joe Biden for President, Cory Booker for Senate, Singleterry and Drake for County Commissioner by wide margins.

In 2024, it happened again!

Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump 55.39% to 41.55%, Andy Kim beat Curtis Bashaw 55.59% to 41.78%, and Shanel Robinson and Sara Sooy for County Commissioner won by over 10,200+ votes, another wide margin. While our county total turnout went down to 68.22%, the Democrats showed they could keep the county solidly blue.

In Bernards Township, this is now the THIRD TIME that a Democrat has won the vote for President in 100 years, starting with Hillary Clinton in 2016. Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump 53.62% to 43.28%. We are NOT a Trump town. We never were! For the Senate, Andy Kim beat Curtis Bashaw 51.70% to 46.33%.

For CD7, the race between Sue Altman and Tom Kean Jr. was extremely close in Bernards Township. Tom Kean Jr. beat Sue Altman by 13 votes. The final numbers were 7598 to 7585, 49.10% to 49.01%. We hope Sue stays involved as she has great ideas that will help our district and country.

For the County Commissioner race, Shanel Robinson and Sara Sooy easily won the County. Locally, it was a close race with opponents Nick Cuozzo and Rakesh Ganta winning by 2.01%, just 598 votes.

As for our local candidates, unfortunately, we had a repeat from four years ago. In 2020, Sophia Chadda and Jon Sandler lost by 950+ votes, or 3.03% of the vote. In 2024, Elizabeth Graner and Adam Subervi lost by 1500+ votes or 5.23% of the vote. While the top of the ticket went for the Democrats, the bottom of the ticket went for the Republicans. This is disappointing.

We can still take comfort in knowing that the Bernards Township Democratic Committee, and its supporters, have helped our County turn blue and keep it blue, and that we elected Democrats Joan Harris (2018) and Ana Duarte McCarthy (2023) to the Township Committee. We have increased our voter base by over 60% since 2017 when the BTDC was reestablished, and we are just getting started.

–Nancy D’Andrea