How Ocean City Voted For President, Congress, Marijuana

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Throughout the nation, Election Day may become Election Week or Election Month because of the coronavirus pandemic. The tally isn't over in Ocean City or Cape May County either, but let's look at how Ocean City voted on key issues so far.

The Cape May County Clerk's Office has counted the mail-in votes, so that's the data Patch will examine. Provisional votes have not been determined and could have an effect on the results of races.

President

Vice President Joe Biden won handily in New Jersey, but that wasn't the case in Ocean City. President Donald Trump received 3,647 votes from mail-in ballots, while Biden generated 3,089.

But that's a closer gap than the 2016 presidential election, when President Trump earned 3,708 votes and Hillary Clinton received 2,670.

In Cape May County in 2016, President Trump held a 28,446-18,750 advantage against Clinton. According to ballots counted so far, President Trump holds a 27,756-21,159 lead against Biden in the county.

Senate

Once again, Ocean City leaned red while New Jersey overall went blue. Sen. Cory Booker won re-election, but Republican challenger Rik Mehta earned more mail-in votes in Ocean City.

Mehta received 3,612 votes in Ocean City, while Booker had 2,926.

For now, that's a closer gap than New Jersey's last Senate race in 2018, when Ocean City gave Republican challenger Bob Hugin 3,508 votes, compared to Sen. Bob Menendez's 2,050.

Cape May County gave Hugin 24,823 votes in the 2018 Senate race, while Menendez received 14,555 votes.

Congress

Congressman Jeff Van Drew declared victory Tuesday. But Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy hasn't conceded, and the Associated Press hasn't called the race.

Van Drew, a Republican, has 141,685 overall votes as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, while Kennedy has 132,122. The AP has reported results for 390 of 523 precincts.

If Van Drew maintains his lead, he can thank the voters in Cape May County, where he holds an advantage of 29,110 to 19,369 against Kennedy. The AP has reported results in 112 of 127 Cape May County precincts.

In 2018, Cape May County favored Van Drew over Seth Grossman, 21,566 to 19,000. Van Drew ran as a Democrat before switching parties last December.

Van Drew received 3,843 mail-in votes this time in Ocean City, while Kennedy generated 2,840 votes. In 2018, Van Drew earned 2,820 votes from Ocean City, while Grossman netted 2,782.

Legal Marijuana

Ocean City Council banned marijuana sales in 2019, anticipating that legalization of recreational weed in New Jersey was on the horizon. But Ocean City so far voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the Garden State.

In the unofficial results, 3,794 in Ocean City voted in favor, while 2,636 opposed.

Ocean City, of course, is a dry town. Alcohol sales and public drinking remain prohibited in the family-friendly town. And in 2012, 68.8 percent of voters rejected a "BYOB" ballot initiative.

But you can still enjoy a legal drink in private in Ocean City, and that will become the case with recreational marijuana.

Related article: 100 Years Since U.S. Prohibition; OCNJ Tells A Different Story

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