CLIFTON – So, who’s the best Democrat running for Passaic County sheriff?

That is what next week’s primary between Thomas Adamo, who is endorsed by the Passaic County Democratic Committee, and Jerry Speziale, a former sheriff, is about.

But then again, judging from some of the campaigning, the question is:

Which candidate is actually not a Republican?

It is common in primaries for candidates to question their opponents’ commitment to party ideals and principles.

So many Republican primaries revolve around who is the “real” conservative, or perhaps, who is not a RINO.

In Passaic, Democrats are playing that game – in reverse.

The county’s Democratic committee has a social media section devoted to “MAGA Jerry.”‘

This stems, partly, from Speziale giving up his sheriff”s post more than 10 years ago to take a job with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under the governorship of Republican Chris Christie.

The conclusion here is that Speziale is, among other things, a “political opportunist” and what’s more, he was a lousy sheriff.

Team Speziale is, not surprisingly, playing the same game.

In recent days, it has discovered Facebook posts that show Adamo liking – according to Speziale – calls for police officers to vote Republican and also liking a post claiming that Joe Biden and Phil Murphy are “destroying this state & our country” and that a “red wave” is coming soon. ”

Adamo counters that he “laughed” at the image, as opposed to liking it, and that Speziale’s creation was doctored.

To which Speziale says. “I don’t doctor images.”

And so it goes.

On Thursday night, both campaigns rallied supporters in different parts of this city.

Adamo held forth at the local Elks Club, where he was joined by many of the county’s Democratic leaders.

Rep. Bill Pascrell endorsed Adamo and his county commissioner slate, saying quite extravagantly:

“These candidates are important to the salvation of this county.”

As for Adamo himself, the veteran congressman looked at him and said:

“And Tommy, I think you’ll make a great sheriff.”

Adamo said the campaign is in the fourth quarter, or perhaps the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, and that he thinks he has momentum on his side.

He reiterated what he said at an event a few weeks ago, “I’m the best person for the job.”

At the same time at a restaurant on Hazel Street, Speziale greeted his supporters as they enjoyed a buffet dinner.

When Speziale kicked off his campaign, he said just about “everyone” who cares about such things knows him and his long record in law enforcement.

Now with the election a few days away, Speziale is confident that knowledge will carry him to victory.

As he put it, voters know that he’s genuine and real while he said his opponent is not.

This primary – and the subsequent November election – is coming about after the suicide earlier this year of then-sheriff Richard Berdnik.

It also comes when there is no more “county line,” which can dilute the power of the county endorsement. So, you can call this an interesting test of how Democratic party politics is going to unfold in this new environment.

There are about 127,000 registered Dems in Passaic, but turnout is likely to be much less than that.

It is always hard to accurately gauge voter interest, but while driving in Wayne the other day, I noticed quite a few lawn signs for both candidates.

An anomaly? Perhaps. Or maybe voters are engaged