Cape May County Democrats voted to endorse their favorite-son candidate, Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock, for the 2nd congressional district at a county committee meeting tonight.
The endorsement was conducted by voice vote, so it’s difficult to know what Mullock’s support looked like or how well other candidates would have fared. According to one person in the room, county committeemembers were simply asked to ratify by voice whether or not to endorse Mullock.
Competing against Mullock for the endorsement were civil rights attorney Tim Alexander, former USAID official Bayly Winder, and local activist Terri Reese, all of whom live in neighboring Atlantic County. The eventual winner of the primary will face Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) in the GOP-leaning district.
“Cape May County residents are excited about the future with Mayor Mullock in this primary race,” Cape May Democratic Chair Marie Blistan said in a statement. “We look forward to helping him win the primary, winning the election, and having Cape May County Congressman Zack Mullock restore integrity back into that federal office.”
Some of Mullock’s opponents aren’t thrilled with the way the endorsement vote went down; Winder said the process represented “backroom dealing … that causes voters all over South Jersey and beyond to demand change in our politics.”
Also winning Cape May Democrats’ backing tonight were U.S. Senator Cory Booker, who is seeking a third full term against little-known primary opposition, and Eric Morey and David Temple for county commissioner. (Morey is running for a seat from which his distant relative, GOP Commissioner Will Morey, is retiring this year.)
In the 2024 race for the 2nd district, Cape May Democrats opted not to make any endorsement at all, instead offering their ballot slogan to all three major Democrats in the race. When the June primary came around, however, the county’s primary voters gave a huge margin of victory to local candidate Joe Salerno that helped him narrowly beat Alexander for the Democratic nomination. (The party also did not endorse in the 2025 primary for governor.)
This year’s primary is looking similarly competitive, and the Cape May endorsement is the first definitive split within the South Jersey party establishment. Alexander has party support in Cumberland and Atlantic Counties, though he only narrowly won the latter over Winder, while Ocean, Salem, and Gloucester Counties will conduct their endorsement processes in the coming weeks.
