Assemblyman Jay Webber appears to have dragged his running mate, Christian Barranco, across the finish line in LD26.

Unofficially:

Webber: 9,968

Barranco: 6,858

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce: 6,664

This was a very contentious Republican Primary, where Webber went hard negative against DeCroce.

From InsiderNJ columnist Fred Snowflack:

Nobody ever confused Republican Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce with Angela Davis, the 1960’s-era radical who gained notoriety for a massive Afro and revolutionary rhetoric.

Until now.

In a sure sign the GOP Assembly battle in LD-26 is careening into never-never land, DeCroce is being portrayed as a certified left-winger who “honors Black Lives Matter radicals.”

This is the work of Assemblyman Jay Webber and Christian Barranco who are running as a team and who have been endorsed by Morris County Republicans. The GOP county committee didn’t endorse fellow incumbent DeCroce.

A Webber-Barranco campaign piece this week says primary voters should “reject Black Lives Matter” by rejecting DeCroce.

At issue is an Assembly vote last year designating July 13 as “Black Lives Matter Day” in New Jersey. The measure passed last June without any negative votes and was referred to the Senate where action has yet to be taken. Obviously, the Assembly action came about amid protests throughout the state and nation after the death of George Floyd.

The bill references Floyd’s death and calls on New Jerseyans on that day to come together in solidarity to commemorate the movement and its goal of “combatting systematic racism and violence against black people.”