2 Sherrill 2 Furious

Good morning!

Since we’re not California, we’re waking up today to fairly certain primary election results in most places.

In what will be the most closely watched congressional race in New Jersey, the 7th District, Rebecca Bennett cleaned the clock of her Dem opponents on Tuesday, winning 46% of the vote in the four-way race to take on GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in the fall.

Bennett is a former Navy helicopter pilot running in a Republican district hoping to unseat a longtime GOP fave during a Trump midterm. It’s almost like Democrats asked ChatGPT, “Can we get another Mikie Sherrill?”

“Together, we are going to flip this seat and we are going to take back the House and we are going to make sure we leave this country better off than we found it,” Bennett said during a brief victory speech Tuesday.

Kean remains … somewhere handling some kind of medical issue. Joey Fox at the New Jersey Globe reported yesterday that Kean said he’ll be transparent about his absence when he returns to public life “in the next couple of weeks.” His team has been promising this for many couples of weeks.

NJ-12: The state’s other closely watched primary was in the 12th District, where Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s impending retirement in a district that is a safe bet for Dems to keep control of in November led to a torrent of candidates running. Adam Hamawy, a physician and Army combat veteran, came out on top, winning 28% of the vote in the crowded race. “New Jersey -- we made history tonight. Healthcare not bombs. Abolish ICE. Unrig the economy,” Hamawy said on social media last night. Hamawy stans have been strangely nanny-nanny-boo-boo about rival Dem Sue Altman’s apparent sixth-place finish, with one saying she ran a “Zionist” campaign.

Senate: Sen. Cory Booker is on the ballot in the fall, and he will face Republican Justin Murphy, who won a four-way race for the GOP nod to challenge Booker. Murphy faces many roadblocks, including that New Jersey voters have not sent a Republican to the U.S. Senate since the Nixon administration. A second, perhaps bigger roadblock is Booker is sitting on about $22 million in campaign cash. Murphy raised about $15,000 this cycle.

More: Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock (D) will take on Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) in the fall, Rep. Rob Menendez (D) handily won his primary, as did his pals Rep. LaMonica McIver and Rep. Analilia Mejia (both Ds). Former NYPD officer Michael McGuire (R) will challenge Rep. Herb Conaway (D). Rep. Frank Pallone (D) defeated two challengers in his primary. Rachel Peace (D) will face Rep. Chris Smith (R). The AP has yet to call the race in the 9th District, where Republicans Rosie Pino and Tiffany Burress are vying to take on Rep. Nellie Pou (D) in November. Pino is leading by a few hundred votes.

Delaney Hall: Sherrill has been the focus of some progressive ire for state troopers’ handling of the protests outside Delaney Hall (they say troopers used excessive force when moving protesters away from the Newark migrant jail). On Monday, her administration unveiled a lawsuit against the detention center’s owners, demanding that they let state health officials inspect the entire facility.

NJ Transit: Um …

D.C.: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared before a Senate panel Tuesday and defended his threats to cripple international air travel into some cities led by Democrats. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) called this plan “illegal,” and Mullin said it was outlandish to call any of the plans unconstitutional. “We’re doing the job that Congress gave us,” Mullin said. Mullin has previously said in interviews that he would be willing to pull customs agents from airports in places that don’t cooperate with federal immigration agents.