Assemblymen Antwan McClellan (R-Ocean City) and Erik Simonsen (R-Lower) have won re-election in the 1st legislative district, the New Jersey Globe projects, holding onto a red-leaning district in far South Jersey that not too long ago was a Democratic bastion.
As of 11:14 p.m. and with nearly all votes counted, McClellan and Simonsen have 27.8% and 27.6% of the vote, respectively, while Democratic foes Carolyn Rush, an engineer and former congressional candidate, and Carol Sabo, the mayor of West Cape May, have 22.5% and 22.2%. That’s a clear win, but also closer result than Republicans were likely expecting in the district, which drew almost no outside attention.
McClellan and Simonsen were first elected in 2019, when they – alongside State Sen. Michael Testa (R-Vineland) – defeated three Democratic legislators. Their victories came after more than a decade of domination by State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, then a Democrat; Van Drew was elected to Congress in 2018, giving Republicans an opportunity to at last flip the 1st district, and defected to the Republican Party himself not too long afterwards.
In the six years since then, Republicans have solidified their hold on the 1st district, thanks in no small part to Testa’s increasingly powerful operation in his home of Cumberland County, where he’s also the GOP chairman. South Jersey Democrats, far more focused on other seats, didn’t make a serious play for the 1st district in any of 2021, 2023, or 2025.
Democrats did, however, have a contested primary for the nomination between Sabo, who had party support, and Rush and Coast Guard veteran Brandon Saffold, who ran with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop. Sabo and Rush ended up winning easily and forming a mixed general election ticket; Rush may have benefited from her multiple campaigns for Congress, the latter of which included a stint as a plaintiff in now-Senator Andy Kim’s lawsuit against the county line.
McClellan, a member of Assembly GOP leadership, is the only Black Republican in the legislature, which will remain true after tonight after Black Republicans in competitive districts fell short of winning. He was on the shortlist to be Jack Ciattarelli’s running mate in 2021, and was speculated to be a possible contender for the same post this year.
