Trenton, NJ – Is the ‘Good Ole Boys’ network dead in New Jersey? Or, are party chairmen across New Jersey just learning how to do business in a post-party line political landscape?
The political landscape in New Jersey has undergone a seismic shift with the recent abolition of the “county line” ballot system, a unique feature of the state’s primaries that once gave party chairmen outsized influence over election outcomes. As the dust settles on this historic change, political observers and candidates alike are asking: Do county party chairmen still wield the power they once did, or has the removal of the party line truly leveled the playing field?
For decades, New Jersey’s county line system allowed party-endorsed candidates to be grouped together in a prominent position on primary ballots, often ensuring their victory by making it easier for voters to select the “approved” slate. Critics long argued that this setup handed party chairmen—key figures in the state’s political machines—near-unchecked authority to anoint winners, sidelining challengers and stifling competition. A federal judge’s ruling in March 2024, spurred by a lawsuit from Rep. Andy Kim during his U.S. Senate campaign, struck down the county line for Democratic primaries, mandating an “office block” ballot design instead, where candidates are listed by the office they seek rather than party endorsement.
The impact was immediate. The June 2024 primaries offered a glimpse into a new era, with some races showing increased competitiveness. However, as New Jersey gears up for the 2025 gubernatorial primaries, opinions remain divided on whether the absence of the line has diminished the power of party chairmen or simply forced them to adapt.
A Shift in Influence?
Political analyst Julia Sass Rubin, a professor at Rutgers University who has studied the county line’s effects, argues that while the change is a step toward fairness, party chairmen retain significant sway. “The line’s removal weakens their ability to directly control ballot placement, but these leaders still command loyalty, fundraising networks, and grassroots operations,” Rubin said. “They’ve lost a tool, not their toolbox.”
Evidence from the 2024 primaries supports this view. In counties like Essex and Hudson, where Democratic Party chairs Leroy Jones and Anthony Vainieri have long dominated, endorsed candidates still prevailed in most contested races, even without the line’s visual advantage. Insiders attribute this to established political machines that mobilize voters through patronage, endorsements, and get-out-the-vote efforts honed over decades.
Yet, the picture isn’t uniform. In Monmouth County, where the Democratic field was more fractured, the absence of the line allowed lesser-known candidates to gain traction, suggesting that the change could erode chairmen’s grip in areas with weaker party cohesion. “It’s not a monolith,” said Brett Pugach, an attorney involved in the lawsuit against the county line. “Where party bosses are entrenched, they’ll find ways to win. Where they’re not, voters have more say.”
In Ocean County, a blind man can steer the party to victory in the most heavily Republican influenced county in New Jersey. Even with the party line, several state level candidates have defeated te line in recent years against former chairman Frank Holman and George Gilmore.
In local elections, when Democrats mounted a viable campaign, they defeated Republicans in Brick Township and Toms River…