A full slate of Democrats will challenge entrenched GOP politicians in state- and countywide elections this year.

Thursday night the Sussex County Democratic Committee endorsed Gina Trish and Kate Matteson, who want to challenge the GOP’s Parker Space and Harold Wirths to represent the 24th district in the state Assembly. In the primary they will run against Michael Pirog, who is also seeking an Assembly seat.

Thursday’s SCDC vote tally was 68 votes for Matteson, 66 for Trish and four for Pirog. Trish and Matteson were also endorsed by Warren County’s Democratic Committee, and Morris County has endorsed Trish and Pirog. The 24th district comprises all of Sussex County, 10 Warren municipalities and one town, Mount Olive, in Morris County. Trish, of Blairstown, and Matteson, of Sparta, both grew up in Stillwater. Pirog lives in Mount Olive.

Trish and Matteson complete a Democratic ticket that includes Jennifer Hamilton as a hopeful to replace Steve Oroho as state senator.

Sussex County Democrats, long thought a largely invisible minority, are seeing a resurgence of energy and commitment in the wake of the disastrous Christie administration, the more disastrous presidential election and a realization that its entrenched GOP representation has steadily supported pro-corporate agendas—as well as those antagonist to women’s rights, education, environmental protections and other progressive no-brainers—to the detriment of the population.

“It's clear that our current local leadership is just right in alignment with this right-wing, pro-corporate agenda,” Trish said Thursday evening at the Irish Cottage Inn in Franklin. “All the local leadership is voting just like Scott Garrett did.

“There's one more thing they have in common with Scott Garrett,” she continued, “and that is that their time in our district is limited.”