In an upset, attorney John McCann (above, right) upended veteran state Senator Gerry Cardinale (R-39) in Passaic tonight.

“They’re ready for a change in our district,” McCann told InsiderNJ after receiving 15 votes to Cardinale’s 6.

“The general feeling is our senator has served with distinction and it is time for a change,” the challenger added. “They clearly reject all of the special interest money he’s receiving from those who benefit from low income housing. In his entire career he’s done nothing to stop low income housing for 38 years. That is the central issue in the primary and in November.

“My confidence level is the same,” McCann said of his chances in Cardinale’s Bergen. “I am even keeled and I feel that the Bergen voters feel exactly the same way as those in Passaic, because low income housing affects all of our communities.”

Another surprise tonight was a tie between Morris County Freeholder Hank Lyon (above, left) and Assemblywoman Betty Lou DeCroce in LD26.

Veteran Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) had no trouble getting the line in this, his native county.

But DeCroce and Lyon locked up at nine votes apiece for the seat she now occupies.

They will have to come back for a tie break to determine who will have the line in West Milford, the 26th district’s second biggest town.

A third candidate – Freeholder hopeful Lori Mambelli, a retired captain from the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office (also pictured) won the party’s support in her own countywide bid for elected office.