Sussex County primary results: Commissioner celebrates win over 'toxic' GOP opponents

Bruce A Scruton, Newton New Jersey Herald
Updated ·4 min read

NEWTON — Sussex County Republican voters on Tuesday selected incumbent Christopher Carney and running mate Alan Henderson as the GOP nominees for county commissioner, giving them the inside track for the November general election.

Voters also chose Republican contenders for town councils and committees in a half-dozen municipal races which were contested in Branchville, Franklin, Hopatcong, Montague, Ogdensburg and Stanhope.

After thanking the party faithful who gathered at O'Reilly's Pub & Grill in Newton, Carney said that his and Henderson's victory "was mostly to keep toxic people out of Sussex County."

Republican candidates for Sussex County commissioner in the 2024 primary include (clockwise from upper right): Earl Schick, Harvey Roseff, Robert Kovic, Christopher Carney and Alan Henderson.
Republican candidates for Sussex County commissioner in the 2024 primary include (clockwise from upper right): Earl Schick, Harvey Roseff, Robert Kovic, Christopher Carney and Alan Henderson.

Carney said he was referring to Robert Kovic and Harvey Roseff, who finished fourth and fifth in the race − and also to current Commissioner William Hayden, who has come under fire from fellow Republicans for allegedly making up a military career to boost his election campaign. Hayden in turn has sued the commissioners' board and other county officials.

Carney said he was also referring to William Winkler, a political consultant and ally of Hayden, Kovic and Rosoff who has taken aim at local politicians in his internet column.

Carney, a Vernon native seeking his second term on the county board, also took the time to thank Earl Schick, who finished third in the race. Schick has been on the commissioner board since early February having been selected by a county Republican convention to fill out the unexpired term of Dawn Fantasia, who was elected to the state Assembly.

"Earl has been a good commissioner," Carney said. "He's a good man and we have worked well together."

Here are the unofficial results as reported by Sussex County late Tuesday. The numbers have yet to be certified by the county Clerk's Office:

Sussex County Commissioner election results

Five Republicans vied for two nominations: (final but unofficial)

  • Christopher Carney, 8,386

  • Alan Henderson, 6,076

  • Robert Kovic, 3,161

  • Harvey Roseff, 2,333

  • Earl Schick, 4,029

Sussex County voters on Tuesday selected two Republican nominees for county commissioner, giving them the inside track for the November general election.
Sussex County voters on Tuesday selected two Republican nominees for county commissioner, giving them the inside track for the November general election.

There were no listed candidates for the Democrat line, although there were several write-ins. Those names will be examined and if a candidate receives the necessary number of votes to qualify, that person will be on the November ballot. Independent candidates also had until Tuesday to file signatures of registered voters to get on the ballot.

In heavily Republican Sussex County, however, winning the GOP primary is usually tantamount to election to the office. A Democrat hasn't been elected to the county's governing body since Howard Burrell, then the mayor of Vernon, in 1999.

During the campaign, Carney and Schick touted their stewardship of county government and its $122.8 million budget through the COVID pandemic, including their ability to tap into federal relief funds to keep key programs running. Kovic, the former executive director of the Sussex GOP, has sought to make an issue of alleged mismanagement of a food pantry program, claims that Jill Space, the head of the commissioners' board, has dismissed as "outright lies."

Carney has been the Sussex County representative to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Commission since 2021. He also was a member of the Frankford Township Committee where he now lives and has served as mayor.

Henderson, part of a family with deep roots in the county, has been on the Lafayette Township Committee for several years, serving as mayor in 2016 and 2020. He currently is deputy mayor. He has also served leadership roles with the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show and is a retired police officer in Hardyston.

Kovic and Roseff ran as a team. Kovic is an attorney and former Sparta councilman. Roseff is a member of the Byram Township council, where his term runs through 2025.

NJ Primary Election 2024 results: President, Senate, Congress

In contested municipal races:

Branchville election results

Five Republicans sought two slots.

  • Keith Whitehead, 47

  • Russell H Bellis Jr., 84

  • Troy C. Orr, 63

  • Melissa Fischer, 55

  • Randolph S. Morse, 28

Jeffrey Lewis ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Franklin election results

Three Republicans sought two nominations:

  • Rachel Heath, 300

  • Patricia Carnes, 159

  • Gilbert J. Snyder, 299

Hopatcong election results

Four Republicans seeking two spots:

  • Michael Francis, 543

  • John Young, 566

  • Esad "Steve" Kucevic 913

  • Joseph Falconi, 953

Montague election results

Three Republicans for two seats:

  • Barbara Holstein, 226

  • James LeDonne, 262

  • Joseph Krumpfer, 205

Ogdensburg

Three Republicans vied for two nominations:

  • Lynn D. Lame, 160

  • Richard Gandarinho, 138

  • Kenneth Poyer, 89

Stanhope election results

Three Republicans seeking two seats:

  • Tyler Simpson, 248

  • William Thornton, 260

  • Najib Iftikhar, 42

Email: bscruton@njherald.com Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Sussex County NJ 2024 primary election: Results, see who won