No Surprises as Frontrunners Win New Jersey Primaries

New Jersey was one of eight states to hold congressional primaries Tuesday — and all eyes are on the winners as Republicans fight to keep control of the House come the November midterms.

Voters cast ballots for the state's 12 congressional districts and one Senate seat. Congressman Leonard Lance was the only Republican incumbent to be challenged, but he sailed to the midterms with almost 75 percent of the vote.

Lance has served in the 7th District for a decade, but his Democratic challenger, former Obama administration official Tom Malinowski, is hoping anti-Trump sentiment will turn the seat blue.

At his victory party Tuesday night, Malinowski told his supporters that the 7th could be one of the 23 districts Democrats need to flip the House.

"We are a swing district. We can be one 23rd of the solution," Malinowski said. "[So] no pressure."

Meanwhile in the district of outgoing Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor Mikie Sherrill won the Democratic seat.

Sherrill was a favorite in a five-way race for the 11th District — garnering high-profile endorsements, on-the-ground support from grassroots organization NJ 11th For Change, and raising nearly $3 million. 

At a packed victory party Tuesday night, Sherrill told a crowd of mostly women that her district could very well swing left.

"A year ago a lot of people thought this race wasn't winnable," she said. "But we put it on the map and we made New Jersey's 11th District the center of a national movement for new leadership." 

Meanwhile Assemblyman Jay Webber won the Republican nomination for the 11th, with almost 40 percent of the vote. 

In the state's 2nd District, state senator Jeff Van Drew won the Democratic primary in a race that pitted the establishment against more progressive candidates. Van Drew, considered a conservative Democrat, had the backing of power brokers like George Norcross and defeated runner up Tanzie Youngblood with 55 percent of the vote.  

He'll be facing Seth Grossman in the midterms, who's fighting to keep the seat in Republican hands once congressman Frank LoBiondo retires.

In the only statewide race, senator Bob Menendez managed to fend off a primary challenger and will be the Democratic nominee this fall, facing Republican businessman Bob Hugin.

Click 'Listen' to for more on the races with WNYC's Nancy Solomon and Morning Edition host Richard Hake. 

Check out all of the primary results here.