Politics & Government

Local Turnout Sparse for Special Primary

Results show Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes sided with frontrunners.

Voter turnout in Tuesday’s special primary to fill former Sen. Lautenberg’s seat was low across the state—a mere 9 percent—but in Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes, it was even lower.

According to unofficial results released by the municipal clerks, turnout in the two towns fell below 7 percent, roughly the same showing polling stations saw during the June primary, where there were far fewer headline-grabbing candidates, and no contested local elections, on the ballot.

In addition to the unusual date for the special primary, falling smack in the middle of vacation season, turnout may have been dampened by an expectation heading into Tuesday that the two frontrunners had their parties’ nods locked up. In polls prior to the election, Democrat Cory Booker and Republican Steve Lonegan respectively had 40- and 60-point leads over competitors.

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And that’s pretty much how the voting went statewide, with Booker earning the nod with 59 percent of the vote and Lonegan coasting through with 79 percent.

Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes generally went even more heavily for the favorites, though Wyckoff Republicans were a tad more favorable toward underdog Alieta Eck, as the unofficial counts show (the percentages are rounded to one decimal):

Find out what's happening in Wyckoffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

            Wyckoff Democrats

            Cory Booker: 249 (63.8%)

            Rush Holt: 69 (17.7%)

            Frank Pallone: 65 (16.7%)

            Sheila Oliver: 7 (1.8%)

            Wyckoff Republicans

            Steve Lonegan: 372 (72.5%)

            Alieta Eck: 137 (26.7%)

            Franklin Lakes Democrats

            Cory Booker: 130 (72.6%)

            Rush Holt: 26 (14.5%)

            Frank Pallone: 21 (11.7%)

            Sheila Oliver: 2 (0.1%)

            Franklin Lakes Republicans

            Steve Lonegan: 280 (87%)

            Alieta Eck: 42 (13%)

Booker and Lonegan will face off for the senate seat Oct. 16, though the winner will have to stand before the voters gain in 2014.



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