How Cranford Voted: Committee, School Board, President, Marijuana

CRANFORD, NJ — The Union County Clerk posted Tuesday that after revealing a small percentage of local election results Tuesday night, more numbers may not be released until Saturday, with certification to come on Nov. 20. This includes the Cranford Committee and school board races (see preliminary numbers below).

But some area races have been decided.

Rep. Tom Malinowski beat Tom Kean, Jr. for 7th District Congress on Tuesday with approximately 55 percent of the vote. The victory came after a race in which Malinowski was subject to heated — and, some said, false — attacks.

As of 10 p.m. on Election Day, with only 6.67 percent of districts in Cranford reporting, these were the early votes for the four candidates competing for two Cranford committee seats:

• Democratic candidate Brian Andrews: 5,369
• Democratic candidate Jason Gareis 5,133
• Republican candidate Chrissa Stulpin 3,213
• Republican candidate Regina "Gina" Black 3,177
• Write-in: 20

Bette Kowalski commented on Wednesday, "As Cranford Democratic chair, I am very proud of Brian and Jason, and I look forward to a positive outcome for Democrats when the full count is in. Campaigning during a pandemic has definitely been a challenge. Brian and Jason have managed to connect with people in so many ways and I am confident that, given the chance, they will serve Cranford well."

For the Cranford school board race for three open seats, also with 6.67 percent of districts reporting, these were the tallies so far:

• Kristen Mallon: 5,910
• Lisa Carbone: 5,892
• Kurt Petschow: 5,521
• Francis Riccio III: 2,196
• Write-in: 149

A county official said Tuesday that the numbers were unofficial results for machine and vote-by-mail ballots. Watch Patch for updates.

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How Union County voted: President and marijuana

In Union County, with only 15 percent of districts reporting, 72 percent of the vote for president, or 88,984 votes, went to former Vice President Joe Biden. Another 32,422 votes went to Pres. Donald Trump. Libertarian Jo Jorgensen drew 480 votes, and other third-party and write-in candidates amassed around 1,000 votes tota.

For the vote to legalize marijuana usage, about 68 percent of Union County voters were in favor. The totals were 72,370 to 33,467.

For more on the New Jersey totals and public questions, click here.

For prior coverage of the 2020 election in New Jersey, go here: New Jersey Elections 2020

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