While complete results are still being finalized, Sussex County appears to have seen a slight but measurable increase in support for Democrat candidates compared to the previous two presidential elections.

Sussex County votes for Trump, but saw slight jump in support of Democrats.

While complete results are still being finalized, Sussex County appears to have seen a slight but measurable increase in support for Democrat candidates compared to the previous two presidential elections.

The long-established conservative area of New Jersey still voted Republican in each of the major races Tuesday, including for president, where Joe Biden was declared the winner over incumbent Donald Trump Saturday morning.

However, a breakdown of voting reveals a smaller margin between the two major parties across the board than in recent presidential elections, when turnout is generally the highest.

According to the county Board of Elections, with 85% of all votes counted as of Saturday afternoon, 56% of voters supported Trump's bid for a second term as president. Biden earned just under 42% of county votes, with the remainder going to third-party candidates and write-ins.

The 2016 election, which pitted Trump against Democrat Hillary Clinton, saw 62% of county voters vote for Trump and 32% vote for Clinton. In 2012, Republican challenger Mitt Romney earned just under 60% of the county's vote, while 38% voted for President Barack Obama on his way to re-election.

The increase in Democrat support was also evident in the races for both Congressional districts representing Sussex County, where Republican challengers Frank Pallotta and Rosemary Becchi faced off against Josh Gottheimer, D-5th District, and Mikie Sherrill, D-11th District, respectively.

Pallotta received 57% of the county vote in the 5th District — which includes 19 of the 24 county municipalities — compared to Gottheimer's 42% in this year's election. 

In 2016, the district saw incumbent Republican Congressman Scott Garrett earn 58% of the Sussex vote to Gottheimer's 37%, although Gottheimer would go on to secure the victory. Garrett fared far better locally in 2012, where he won 66% of the county vote to prevail over Democrat challenger Adam Gussen's 29%.

Among county voters in the 11th District — which includes Byram, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta and Stanhope — Becchi earned 54% of the vote compared to Sherrill's 46%. Longtime Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, who retired in 2018, received much more support from the county in 2016, when he earned 65% of the vote, and in 2012, when he earned 67% of the vote. 

County Democrat support in the race for state senator saw a slight bump compared to 2012 (there was no Senate race in 2016), albeit not as notable as the votes in the presidential and congressional races.

This year, Republican Rik Mehta received 56% of the Sussex County vote in his attempt to unseat Sen. Cory Booker, who earned 42% of the vote in the county. The 2012 race saw 58% of the county vote for Republican Joe Kyrillos and 38% for incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez.

The county's shifting ideology was also apparent in the vote to legalize marijuana, a traditionally liberal viewpoint promoted by Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy leading up to the election and in his 2017 campaign for governor.

Nearly two-thirds of Sussex County voters voted in favor of the ballot question, a result virtually identical to the statewide breakdown. In recent years, individual county municipalities as well as the freeholder board had passed resolutions against legalizing the drug and voiced concerns about it passing.

Source: NJ Herald, https://www.njherald.com/story/news/2020/11/07/sussex-county-nj-saw-increase-democrat-support-2020-election/6202599002/