BERKELEY TOWNSHIP-One of the strongest Republican organizations in Ocean County has jumped ahead of the pack this week and endorsed Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari for 2020.
There have been hints the past year of a coup-de-tat against Vicari from within the GOP organization, but if that’s going to happen, it’s now going to happen without the support of Berkeley Township’s GOP where Republicans here won a nearly 4-1 election last month.
Berkeley Township could play a key role in the event that the county GOP places a primary candidate against Vicari, which has long been speculated since the shakeup in the party this past spring.
Vicari has historically also had the support of Lakewood and Jackson Townships, two more large Republican primary voting communities. For the Holman regime to make a play against Vicari, they would have to lock up support from Lakewood or Jackson, but it’s doubtful Jackson could muster up an effort to unseat Vicari as that club has been plagued with infighting, resignations and scandals over the past few months.
Towns in the Southern Ocean County region, which are loosely allied with the new Southern Ocean Conservative PAC, could also throw their support behind Vicari in the event that the party makes a move against the long-time freeholder.
