Republicans appear to be heading for victory in Maywood, where two district council candidates clashed in the November 2021 election, which ended in a draw.
Former school board member Daniel Chicarelli leads Democrat Catherine Benin with 63 votes, 585 against 522, with a 52.9% advantage over 47.1%.
Benin has been the current head, and the seat has remained vacant since the council’s reorganization last month.
Ballot papers sent by mail before 8pm on Tuesday will be counted until they arrive at the Bergen County Election Commission before the end of the working day next Monday. It is not immediately clear how many ballots are being cured.
Benin won the postal vote, 201 against 111, but Chicarelli, a public school teacher, received a machine vote of 153 votes.
Republicans abolished another seat on the council in November, when Samuel Canacenti defeated Democratic MP Douglas Herrick with 50 votes, 1,450 against 1,400. Chicarelli and Benin received 1,437 votes each.
Maywood has a Democratic mayor; In the 2021 election, Democrats defended a majority in the council 6-0. Now the Democrats will have a 4-2 majority on the council if Chicarelli is declared the winner, which will make the by-elections in 2022 in the suburban municipality of Bergen County, which will turn blue.
Democrats make up 39% of registered voters in Maywood; Republicans make up 20% of the local electorate.
The upcoming election was not necessarily a republican wave. Gov. Phil Murphy received 364 votes against Republican nominee Jack Chattarelli, 1,702 against 1,338 (57% -43%). State Senator Joseph Lagana (D-Paramus) won Maidwood with 349 votes. In 2017
Murphy won over Mawood in 2017 with 417 votes. Turnout was 43% in 2017 and 44% in 2021. Joe Biden defeated Mawood with 1,055 votes, 59% -40%, in the 2020 presidential election.
