Small, Carstarphen Win Primaries in Camden, Atlantic City
By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH
ATLANTIC CITY — Vic Carstarphen and Marty Small Sr. swept to victory in their Democratic primaries in Camden and Atlantic City, respectively.
Their victories mirrored each other on both ends of South Jersey, as both carried their slate of at-large candidates with them in voting Tuesday.
Carstarphen, who was elevated to interim mayor after Frank Moran suddenly resigned in April, does not have a Republican opponent in November’s general election. Small will face Republican Thomas Forkin, who he handily beat last November to fill the remainder of former Mayor Frank Gilliam’s term.
Current at-large city councilman Mo Delgado, announced this month he will run for Atlantic City mayor as an independent along with Jimmy Whitehead.
Camden at-large incumbents — Sheila Davis, Angel Fuentes and Nohemi Soria-Perez — who all supported Carstarphen, all won the right to move on to the November general election.
“To say I am humbled and overcome with emotion would be an understatement,” Carstarphen said in a statement on Facebook. “The CamdenStrong2021 campaign has always been about the people of Camden. As our focus shifts to the November election, I look forward to working with all of Camden as we build a city that will thrive for generations to come. Camden, our best days are ahead.”
For Small, it was his third consecutive win in what seemed like an endless election cycle for the longtime Atlantic City political figure. He was elevated from city council president to mayor when Gilliam was forced to resign on federal fraud charges in October 2019.
He immediately put up the campaign posted to beat a challenger in the Democratic primary and the general election in 2020 for the remainder of Gilliam’s term. Small now is running for a full-term of his own after grabbing an impressive 80% of the vote in the Tuesday’s primary.
“Thank you Atlantic City. We won and I got 81% of the vote,” Small said in an Instagram message. “One more election. See y’all in November.”
Small’s at-large coalition of current councilman George Tibbitt, along with newcomers Stephanie Marshall and Bruce E. Weekes, also captured the three open at-large spots. They will face a Republican slate that includes Matthew Diullio-Jusino, Marcia Laca and Rizwan Khan Malik.
In Paulsboro, Karen Armistead, a teacher at Delsea Regional High School, and longtime councilwoman Jennifer Turner, turned back challengers to win the Democratic primary in a competitive race.
In Pleasantville, Danny Adcock on the Democratic primary for the Ward 1 seat while Bertilio Correra won the primary for the Ward 2 seat.
This story will be updated.
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