Little Wins Republican House Nod

With no local elections in Woodbridge, the turnout for the June primary was low. Even so, about 20 percent of the registered Republicans in the township turned out to vote, and the race to watch was between Anna Little and Ernesto Cullari.

Little, a former Highlands mayor and Monmouth County freeholder, and Cullari, a newcomer to politics, are both Tea Party favorites. The race caused tea partiers to battle one another over which nominee more closely aligned with tea party principles, and which candidate had a better chance of winning in November against Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone.

Little bested Cullari in Woodbridge by 814 to 176 votes. The Republican party in the township has 6,019 registered voters.

Because of the census redistricting, Woodbridge, which had been split between two congressional districts, will be reunited in the 6th District come January, 2012.

The presidential race on the Republican side was of interest as well. While all candidates save Congressman Ron Paul have conceded to Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive nominee, the names of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were both still on the ballot.

Romney won among Woodbridge Republicans 829 votes. Ron Paul was the second highest vote getter with 151 votes, followed by Santorum with 118 and Gingrich with 31.

For U.S. Senate, Joe Kyrillos, a Monmouth state senator, easily won against three Republican challengers with 766 votes.

None of the Democrats, from President on down the ticket, faced any challengers in Woodbridge. Even so, about 10 percent of the party's 20,497 registered voters turned out to cast a ballot.

Woodbridge Democratic voters gave U.S. Senator Robert Menendez 1,995 votes in the primary. Menendez congratulated Kyrillos on his win, and said in a statement that he "looks forward to a campaign that will focus on and discuss the differences between us in an honorable way.”