U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew will face two opponents Tuesday in the Republican primary for the Second Congressional District nomination.
On the Democratic side in the Second District, Tim Alexander and Carolyn Rush are vying for the nomination.
Van Drew, a former Democrat who switched to the Republican Party in 2020 while aligning himself with then-President Donald Trump, is seeking a third term representing the sprawling South Jersey district.
The district includes Cape May, Atlantic, Cumberland and Salem counties and parts of Gloucester and Ocean counties.
Van Drew, of Dennis Township, was a former state assemblyman and senator representing the First Legislative District before winning his first two-year term in Congress in 2018.
Also running for the Republican nomination in the Second Congressional District are Sean Pignatelli and John Barker.
Pignatelli, of Fortescue, Cumberland County, is a small businessman and Carpenter’s Union member.
Barker, of Bayville, is a U.S. Army veteran and businessman who decided to challenge Van Drew after a section of Ocean County was folded into the Second District in a redistricting switch.
The Second District’s Democratic primary will pit political newcomers Tim Alexander and Carolyn Rush.
Alexander, of Galloway Township, Atlantic County, is a civil rights attorney who formerly worked as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and an investigator with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Rush, of Sea Isle City, is a systems engineer for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. She formerly lived in Medford before making her summer home in Sea Isle her full-time residence.
The primary will also include nominations in Cape May County for surrogate and the Board of Commissioners, formerly known as the Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Incumbent Surrogate Dean Marcolongo, of Marmora, will face no opposition in the Republican primary. His re-election in the general election in November is virtually guaranteed because the Democrats do not have any nominees for surrogate.
Incumbent Commissioner E. Marie Hayes and running mate Andrew Bulakowski are unopposed in the Republican primary.
Hayes was first sworn into office on Feb. 1, 2013, to fill an unexpired term and was re-elected in 2013, 2016 and 2019. She lives in Ocean City and is a retired captain with the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.
Bulakowski, of the Villas, is a senior representative with the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters. Cape May County Republicans backed Bulakowski for the nomination after veteran Commissioner Gerald Thornton announced he would not seek re-election.
Julia Hankerson will run unopposed as the Democratic nominee for Cape May County Commission. The Democrats do not have a second nominee.
Hankerson, of Woodbine, is a social worker and psychotherapist who owns the Woodbine Wellness Center. She previously ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Woodbine and the state Assembly.
For primary voting, polls open at 6 a.m. and close 8 p.m.
