Hudson County Dem Leader Says Party Needs To 'Fight' In NJ Gov Race
HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — The chairman of Hudson County's longtime Democratic party issued a response to last week's elections on Wednesday, saying that in the wake of Repubilcan Donald Trump's election victory, Democrats have to do a better job of listening to the "rank and file," especially with a governor's race looming in 2025.
While the majority of registered voters in Hudson County are Democrats, portions of the county turned out for Trump on Election Day (see updated numbers below).
"The MAGA election victories of Donald Trump, the Senate, and likely Congress, was clearly not the outcome the Hudson County Democratic Organization was hoping for, but I am immensely proud of the hard work and effort that our members put forward for the entire Harris/Walz Democratic ticket," said HCDO Chairman Craig Guy, who's also the full-time county executive.
"Our efforts organizing phone banks into swing states over the course of 10 weeks and buses to Battleground Pennsylvania to knock doors for democracy on weekends were not just well-attended, they were met with the enthusiasm and relentless determination I believe defines democrats here in Hudson County," he said. "I am proud that the lens of our focus was primarily to aid the Harris-Walz ticket in battleground states. While these efforts were not enough to fight back against the Red Wave that swept the nation, we were successful in winning key elections."
He also said, "I am particularly proud of the fact that we played a central role in making history in New Jersey by helping to elect the first Asian American Senator, Andy Kim, and the first Latina Member of Congress, Nellie Pou."
But it was time for a reckoning, he said.
"One of the most important things I believe we all learned as a result of last week's election is that party leaders need to do a better job of listening to the voices of our community. These are the people on the ground phone banking, knocking on doors and organizing in their communities and the HCDO Executive staff and I have heard from them in abundance since Election Day.
"We need to pick ourselves back up and get ready to stand and fight," he said. "As one of only two states in the entire nation with a gubernatorial election next year, New Jersey will have the eyes of the country and many around the world watching that election as the first true test to see if we will stand against Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans."
Trump has used MAGA, Make America Great Again, as his slogan.
During the election, voters cited issues such as the economy, health care, immigration policy, and crime as important to them, according to Pew research.
Updated Vote Count
The majority of Hudson County voters came out for Kamala Harris in the presidential race, but near the county's borders — including the parts of Bayonne near Staten Island and the parts of North Bergen near Bergen County — the majority came out for Donald Trump.
The map above shows where Republican support was strongest on Election Day.
Out of 420,000 registered voters in the county, 224,000 cast ballots in the election, the county clerk's office said Thursday.
Of votes counted by Wednesday, these were the totals:
See the results by town here.
