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N.J. state senator wins Dem nomination in bid to replace LoBiondo

by Ben Kamisar - 06/05/18 9:42 PM ET

New Jersey state Sen. Jeff Van Drew won his Democratic primary race on Tuesday night in a bid to replace retiring GOP Rep. Frank LoBiondo.

The Associated Press called the race for Van Drew at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

{mosads}Democratic Party officials in New Jersey and Washington believed Van Drew would give Republicans the toughest challenge in a district President Trump won by almost 5 points in 2016.

But the candidate also faced questions over his voting record, having bucked the national Democratic Party on issues like gun control, taxes, abortion and the environment.

Van Drew likely benefited from progressives splitting their votes among other candidates in the primary: Tanzie Youngblood, Nate Kleinman and Will Cunningham.

Van Drew will face off against Seth Grossman, a local attorney who bested engineer Hirsh Singh, among others, in the Republican primary.

Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, called the seat one of the best chances for Democrats to flip a red seat in the country this cycle.

— Updated at 10:58 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Frank LoBiondo