Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore has endorsed Robert Arace, a 28-year-old marketing consultant, in his bid to oust Manchester Mayor Robert Hudak, who supported Michael Mastronardy in the race for Republican Party Chairman.
The news, broken by David Wildstein’s New Jersey Globe, says Gilmore’s endorsement comes after an overwhelming number of Manchester county committee members voted to reinstate him as the chairman, and now he’s trying to return the favor.
Hudak, 45, previously beat Arace by 14 points, 57%-43%, in a previous mayoral matchup in November 2021. In the same race, Hudak’s running mate Michele Zolezi won her bid against Joseph Hankins, who ran with Arace.
Wildstein noted that if Gilmore’s endorsement gives Arace the upper hand in his race against Hudak, people will forget that his endorsed candidate for the 12th District Assembly seat, Dominick Cuozzo, was defeated by 39 points by Alex Sauickie. However, if Arace is unable to win the mayorship in Manchester, people will start questioning how much power Gilmore really has in Ocean County.