Moments ago, Morris County Freeholder candidate Charlie Baranski called Cary Amaro to concede. Charlie Baranski released the following statement:

“Right now, we don’t see a path forward for our campaign based on the ballots still to be counted. One of the worst things we could do is drag out the primary beyond what is necessary, which is why a few minutes ago I spoke with Cary Amaro and conceded the race. I hope every Democrat in the county will join me in congratulating her.

The principal objective of this campaign was to crack the unanimous majority the MCGOP holds on the Freeholder board. That hasn’t changed. That’s why I’m very proud to enthusiastically and unequivocally endorse Cary for Freeholder. I hope all of my incredible supporters and volunteers will do the same and bring the same energy to November that they did to my campaign.

When I began my campaign, I reached out to the Morris County Democratic Committee to discuss my candidacy and assure them that I had no plans to divide the party. This was met with no answer from the party leadership. We were also denied access to the Voter Action Network database that is the staple for any solid Democratic campaign and is nominally available to all Democratic candidates. I wish to express my profound disappointment toward the MCDC for this lack of assistance and sincerely hope that other candidates in a similar position do not face the same unfair playing field.

Progressive candidates and ideas deserve to be taken seriously, and I am certain that, based on our campaign and results, they will be in the future. I have no plans on going anywhere – the secondary objective of our campaign was to build the infrastructure and network necessary to put progressives in
office everywhere. This means everywhere, from School Board to State Senate, and it’s now time to begin the process of supporting them.

Many people cautioned me against running “off the line,” telling me I would get destroyed like others who decided not to submit to our local machine. I don’t feel like I’ve been destroyed. In fact, I believe our movement based around locally-focused progressive ideas and solutions is just beginning.”