Mayor Kristin McLaughlin and running mate Courtney Peters-Manning have come out on top in a contentious Hopewell Township committee race that sees veteran committee member John Hart voted out of office.
Unofficial results from the Office of the Mercer County Clerk have Democrats McLaughlin and Peters-Manning with 2,507 and 2,470 votes respectively, while Republicans Hart and Ed “Jack” Jackowski garnered 2,208 and 2,087 votes each.
In terms of percentage of the overall vote, McLaughlin received 27% of the vote, Peters-Manning 26.6%, Hart 23.8% and Jackowski 22.5%.
The results mean that Hopewell Township has an all-Democrat committee. Hart had been the lone elected Republican in township government.
The last time Hart ran, in 2016, he and fellow incumbent Todd Brant ran on a slate against Democratic challengers McLaughlin and Michael Ruger. That year’s vote resulted in a split ticket, with Hart re-elected and McLaughlin elected to the committee for the first time. Ruger ran again in 2017 and was elected.
John Hart, the 10th-generation Hopewell farmer and owner of Rosedale Mills Country Store, has been on the township committee since 2013. He was also on the committee from 1994 to 2000, serving as mayor from 1996 to 1998.
