Rebecca Bennett, a retired Navy helicopter pilot from Bridgewater, this afternoon won the backing of the Hunterdon County Democratic Committee in her bid to represent the party in CD-7.

Bennett prevailed in a runoff with businessman Brian Varela: 94-76, or 55-44%.

The first vote tally of the contenders was:

Bennet 29%

Varela 25%

Michael Roth 22.5%

Megan O'Rourke 20.9%

Tina Shah 2.2%

This convention today was rescheduled from last weekend, canceled owing to inclement weather.

Chairman Michael Drulis told InsiderNJ that the committee did not pre-screen candidates looking to win the primary in order to take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-7) in the November general election.

Five CD-7 candidates participated in the convention at the Stangl factory, with Bennett ultimately the victor.