Cape May County and State Office Results

Incumbent state Senator Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat, was re-elected in surprisingly tight race with first-time Republican challenger David S. DeWeese in the First District.

Unofficial election results as of Wednesday morning show Van Drew winning, 24,298 (54 percent) to 20,726 (46 percent).

Polls early in the campaign showed Van Drew favored by a much wider margin of voters. Ocean City voters favored DeWeese over Van Drew, 1,712 to 1,283.

The First District covers all of Cape May County, part of Cumberland County and a small part of Atlantic County. Van Drew won by just 18 votes in Cape May County, 12,377 to 12,359.

Incumbent Democrats Matthew Milam and Nelson Albano were returned to office in the state General Assembly, while Republicans Kristine Gabor and Will Morey ran unopposed for seats on the Cape May County Freeholder Board. Sheriff's candidate Gary Schaffer also ran unopposed.

For the state Senate race, the county saw a voter turnout of 37.78 percent. In Ocean City, voter turnout ranged from a low of 21.9 percent in Ward 2, District 4 (between Seventh and Ninth streets) to a high of 42.9 percent in Ward 3 District 1 (the bayside lagoons off Walnut, Spruce and Tennessee avenues).

The winners of each race are highlighted in bold. (Note: These are unofficial returns. Election results take several days to certify.)

Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders (2 seats) 

Kristine Gabor (R): 15,243 (49 percent)
Will Morey (R): 15,893 (51 percent)

* This race was unopposed

Cape May County Sheriff 

Gary G. Schaffer (R): 16,358 (99 percent) 

* This race was unopposed 

State Senate, Legislative District 1 

David S. DeWeese (R): 20,726 (46 percent)
Jeff Van Drew (D): 24,298 (54 percent)

State Assembly, Legislative District 1 

Nelson Albano (D): 24,547 (28 percent)
Matthew Milam (D): 21,978 (25 percent)
Samuel Fiocchi (R): 21,004 (24 percent)
Suzanne M. Walters (R): 20,669 (23 percent)