A week and change after losing her LD8 bid, Lumberton Democratic Municipal Chair Gina LaPlaca pulled out a hometown win and beat the candidate backed by BurlCo GOP Chairman (and Lumberton Mayor) Sean Earlen in their home town.

This was a control election, edged today by the Democrats.

Going up against Republican incumbent Kristen Januseki, Democrat Rue Ryan (a LaPlaca protege) won – 21-10 – on provisional ballots.

Final vote count: Ryan 1517; Januseski 1508

From The Burlington County Times pre-election:

“Incumbent Republican Kristin Januseski hopes to retain her seat and Republican control by winning her second consecutive three-year term on Nov. 5.

“Democratic challenger Rue Ryan hopes to keep her party’s 2018 momentum rolling and flip control of the township committee for the first time in at least a decade by earning her first-ever seat on the committee.”

Home to Earlen and LaPlaca, Lumberton proved a key battleground in the LD8 general election, which Laplaca and fellow Democratic Party running mate Mark Natale lost by around 1K votes to the Republican ticket of retired Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield and Assemblyman Ryan Peters.

Having won the LD8 battle, Earlen lost the countywide war last week when his freeholder and sherifff’s candidates lost.

And today, he took another ding with the local loss of party ally Januseski, making him mayor of a town where Democrats control the local governing body.