Stack’s GOP Solicitation Illustrates the Need to Abolish Partisan Primaries

Four years ago, I wrote that Democracy is dead in New Jersey and that abolishing The Line wouldn’t change that reality.

In a historic decision last year, The Line—a straight column of party-backed candidates that dominated primary elections through ballot design—was abolished after a federal judge ruled the system unconstitutional.

As a result of that ruling, New Jersey’s partisan primaries have become much more competitive. Predictably, special interest groups, armed with Super PACs, are spending significantly more money, and a handful of challengers may pull off stunning upsets.

Nevertheless, it remains undemocratic that partisan primaries—rather than general elections—are deciding New Jersey’s state legislature. Elected leaders shouldn’t be chosen in low-turnout primaries, in gerrymandered districts, held shortly after Memorial Day.

Union City Mayor and State Sen. Brian Stack (LD-33) urging local Republicans to switch parties and vote in Democratic primaries perfectly illustrates why partisan elections must be abolished. Predictably, some Republicans and progressives were not pleased.

Hudson County GOP Executive Director Pavel Sokolov told Hudson County View, “I think that New Jersey has a closed primary system in that members of each party get to elect a candidate to represent their points of view. That goes against the spirit and intent of the closed primary system.”

If partisan primaries (whether closed or open) were abolished in favor of a Top-3 nonpartisan system, Republicans, Democrats, independents, and other political parties would compete against each other to secure a spot on the general election ballot.

In Hudson County, such a system would often (though not always) result in three Democrats running in the general election for Congress, the state legislature, and county offices. Ensuring voters have real choices is more important than guaranteeing Republicans a place on the general election ballot in Hudson County—or Democrats in Sussex County.

LD-32 Assembly candidate Katie Brennan slammed Stack for his letter, tweeting, “Dem voters should choose Dem nominees. Rep voters should choose Rep nominees. It’s really that simple.”

Brennan’s sentiment makes sense, as all she needs to win a seat in the state legislature is a plurality of votes in the primary. Progressive candidates tend to appeal to a smaller, more active group of voters, which gives them a real chance in some low-turnout elections.

Ultimately, I doubt that Stack or his critics would support abolishing partisan primaries. However, with the demise of The Line, maybe there’s some hope for real democracy in New Jersey.