Politics & Government

NJ-10 GOP Primary: Catalano, McGuckin Win Nominations, AP Says

Unofficial vote tallies had Assemblymen John Catalano and Gregory McGuckin ahead of their GOP challengers by more than 3,000 votes each.

The Associated Press declared incumbent 10th District Assemblymen John Catalano and Gregory McGuckin the unofficial winners of the GOP nominations for the November ballot.
The Associated Press declared incumbent 10th District Assemblymen John Catalano and Gregory McGuckin the unofficial winners of the GOP nominations for the November ballot. (Patch Graphics)

This article was updated at 11:55 p.m.

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — Incumbent Assemblymen Gregory McGuckin and John Catalano are expected to be the Republican nominees for the November election in New Jersey's 10th District, based on unofficial results in the GOP primary Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.

Here are the unofficial results, which remain unofficial until the Ocean County Board of Elections and Ocean County Clerk's Office certify them.

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McGuckin and Catalano faced a challenge from Geraldine Ambrosio and Brian M. Quinn, the first time in years there has been a challenge in the Republican race. With 172 of 172 districts counted, Catalano had 10,744 votes, McGuckin had 10,623, Ambrosio had 7,048 and Quinn had 6,923 votes, according to the Ocean County Clerk's office and the Associated Press.

McGuckin and Catalano are endorsed by the Regular Republican Organization of Ocean County. Ambrosio and Quinn ran under the "Make New Jersey Great Again" banner.

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The Republican nominees will face Garitt "Tony" Kono and Mary "Sharon" Quilter, who were unopposed in their Democratic primary, in November for the two four-year terms. Unofficial tallies had Kono with 5,663 votes and Quilter with 5,628 with 172 of 172 districts reporting.

The campaign focused primarily on McGuckin's attorney posts in multiple towns, as Catalano is completing his first term in the Assembly. Ambrosio, the former president of the Toms River Republican Club, which was stripped of its charter by the Ocean County Republican Club in March, and Quinn are part of the same banner that includes four Toms River council candidates, including incumbent Dan Rodrick, who has repeatedly criticized McGuckin over multiple issues. Rodrick accused McGuckin of leaking information about a possible change to health benefits for the Toms River Municipal Utilities Authority; Rodrick was later censured after it was revealed he had shared the information with Carmen Memoli.

You can read all four candidates' profiles here.

New Jersey's 10th Legislative District covers the Ocean County municipalities of Bay Head, Brick Township, Island Heights, Lakehurst, Lavallette, Manchester Township, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant Beach, Seaside Heights and Toms River.

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